Love and Quidditch
by HorcruxFinder
Summary: It didn't take Katie long to discover that life gets much more difficult when you're in love with your Quidditch captain. Will she be able to win Oliver's heart? And more importantly, can she keep it? Which is more important: Love or Quidditch? KBOW.
1. Just One More Girl

_Disclaimer: I'm not J.K. Rowling--never will be._

_Just One More Girl:::_

The platform was already packed as I made my way towards the Hogwarts Express. I dodged my way around mothers fussing over departing children and quickly hauled my trunk onto the train. Anything to get me away from all of these families! I walked swiftly form carriage to carriage until I found Leanne sitting alone at a compartment near the back. No families present there.

"Thank god!" I exclaimed, sitting down across from my fellow fourth year. "Someone normal at last!" And by normal I mean alone. "There are too many people here!"

As if to prove my point, the Weasley family walked through the barrier at that precise moment. I pointed to them and Leanne just laughed. It's not that I don't like the Weasley's—I do—but watching them say their farewells is pure torture.

"Did you leave your dad on the muggle side of the barrier again?" Leanne asked knowingly. My discontent for families probably stems from my lack of having one. My mum died when I was little, leaving my muggle father to raise one witch of a daughter. Poor man. Anyway, I have no desire to mingle my dad's world with my own. I know it reminds him of mum, so anything having to do with school I do alone.

"There's no reason he should have to see this," I finally replied, still staring at the Weasley's. As much as I hate to admit it, that is what I want: a mother to embarrass me by kissing me good-bye, an older brother (or six) that'll glare at all the boys giving me looks—poor Ginny.

"So, how was your summer," I asked, successfully changing the subject. I'm quiet good at that, actually.

"Okay, I guess," Leanne said, brushing a strand of curly brown hair out of her eyes. I envy her hair. All she has to do is wake up and her hair is magically perfect. No pun intended. She doesn't see it that way, but what does she know? My hair, however, is just plain unmanageable, which is why it is always in a ponytail—no exceptions.

I then recounted my own summer tale which happened to include a Holyhead Harpies game.

"How did you manage to get tickets?" Leanne asked curiously. She might not be the athletic type but I don't think there is a witch on this planet that doesn't support the Harpies. Girl Power! Yeah!

"Angelina," I responded as way of explanation. "Her dad works for the Department of Magical Games and Sports and was able to snag three tickets for her, Alicia, and me."

"Oh cool," Leanne said stiffly. I can't say that I blame her.

Leanne and I have been friends since childhood. Even though we are so different—her preppy, me sporty—we've stayed friends. When we arrived at Hogwarts, however, Leanne was sorted into Ravenclaw while I went to Gryffindor. The result of this was nothing more than the fact that now we have two totally different groups of friends and integrating them would be like trying to get the Weasley twins to stop playing pranks. Impossible.

No matter our differences, Leanne will always be my best friend. I trust her with secrets that I can't even fathom telling Angelina and Alicia.

We passed the train ride by playing Exploding Snap and rating the male population of Hogwarts on a scale of one to ten. One being a total turn-off (Neville Longbottom), ten being a total hottie (Charlie Weasley—sure he's graduated but he still counts).

"Roger Davies?" Leanne asked, placing a card on the Exploding Snap deck.

"Eight and a half," I replied, "too much muscle."

"Agreed. Cedric Diggory?"

"Why are you asking me about all of the Quidditch captains?" I noted.

"They're the only ones worth the trouble."

"Agreed. Diggory's a nine."

"Okay, Miss. Gryffindor, what about Oliver Wood?" She asked with a smirk. That's just plain mean.

"I'm not answering that one," I said, trying to retain my dignity. "He's _my_ captain."

"Oh, come on, Katie! We both know he's a ten on the Bell Hotness scale." I couldn't deny that. "Fine," she said, realizing I wasn't going to answer her. "Marcus Flint?"

"Ew…0!" Suddenly, then the lights went out and I could feel the train coming to a stop.

"I think he heard you," Leanne whispered. I smacked her on the arm and then looked out of the window. Exploding Snap forgotten, I strained my eyes and was able to make out several hooded figures coming aboard. Chill bumps formed on my arm and I didn't think it was just because of the cold. Suddenly, the compartment door slammed open and I jumped about a foot in the air.

"Does anyone know what's going on?" a familiar voice said from the doorway.

"Angelina?" I asked the figure in the darkness.

"Katie?" a new voice asked.

"Alicia?"

"Angelina, it _is_ Katie," Alicia cried, taking the seat next to Leanne.

"We were looking for the food cart when the lights went off," Angelina said from the seat next to me. I was about to make a joke about her eating habits when I decided that now probably wasn't the right time.

"I saw some people getting onto the train," I said, hoping they had answers.

"Maybe we broke down," Alicia said.

"No; the train runs on magic," Leanne explained. Trust her to know something like that. The compartment door opened again and we all sat still.

"Who goes here?" a voice asked after several long, tense seconds.

"Fred!" Angelina cried, reaching out to hit him across the arm. "You scared us half to death!"

"Sorry m' ladies," Fred's twin, George, said attempting to sit down next to Alicia, but missing the seat and falling to the floor along with my pack of Exploding Snap cards.

"Ow!" George and Alicia both cried.

"You landed on my foot, George," Alicia said angrily.

"I'm, sorry! I can't see a bloody thing!"

Fred, however, was apparently taking advantage of the darkness. A slap was heard through the darkness and once again, I jumped.

"Fred Weasley, keep your hands to yourself," Angelina hissed.

"Sorry, I thought that was _my_ leg," Fred argued. Even in the dark I knew he was smirking. The compartment door opened once again.

"Any room in here?" My heart immediately started racing.

"Not really, Oliver, but you're welcome to join us anyway," I said, scooting over to give him room.

"Thanks," he said, and sat down next to me.

"Ow, Wood," Angelina cried. "You just sat on my leg!"

"Sorry, Ange," he replied, adjusting his body so that he was closer to me in order to avoid the wrath of Angelina. "Who all's in here?" he asked conversationally.

"Angelina," Angelina said.

"Thanks, but I'd already figured that one out," Oliver replied sarcastically.

"Gred," Fred said.

"Forge," George replied.

"Alicia."

"Leanne."

George, who apparently hadn't realized Leanne was with us, fell out of his seat again. Only this time, he landed on the pack of Exploding Snap cards that had been knocked to the ground earlier and a bang filled the compartment.

"Are you okay?" I choked out as the smoke cleared.

"Yeah, fine," he replied stiffly. "Arse's a little sore though. Not sure I can ride a broom. Oliver, you might need to look for a new beater." We all laughed but when Oliver answered he was completely serious.

"That reminds me! I've worked out a whole new training program over the summer. I was thinking…." But whatever Oliver was thinking we'd never know because at that moment the compartment door opened one last time. The temperature in the small space began to decrease and I had to work just to breathe. A large hooded figure stood above us and as it took a rattling breath, I felt like my very soul was being affected. And then the memories came flooding back.

"_Katie, go call 911," my dad yelled from his bedroom as I sat in the den coloring. _

"_But we're not supposed to call unless it's an emergency," my eight-year-old self protested._

"_Go, call now!"_

And then the scene changed.

"_I'm sorry, Mr. Bell," a doctor was telling my dad as I listened from behind the corner. "Your wife suffered a severe heart attack. There was nothing we could do."_

Memories of my mom flashed back and it was despair such as I had never known; as if I would never be happy again. I hadn't even realized how much I remembered about her death. I hadn't realized how much I'd forgotten…

And as fast as they had started, the memories were gone. The misery, however, still lingered as the Dementors moved on down the train.

OoO

When we arrived at Hogsmeade Station, I hurried into a thestral-pulled carriage, just wanting to put as much distance between me and the train as possible. Angelina, Alicia, and Leanne joined me.

"Truth or dare?" Alicia asked after a few seconds of silence.

"What?" Angelina asked in disbelief at Alicia's childish antics.

"Aw, come on," Alicia defended herself. "It's a ten minute ride!"

"Fine, truth."

"Who was your first kiss?"

"Lee Jordan," Angelina said smugly. "Katie: truth or dare?"

"Truth," I responded without thinking. I'd played this game with Angelina once before and I distinctly remember flying around the Quidditch pitch wearing nothing but George Weasley's stolen boxer shorts.

"Who was your first crush?" Angelina asked.

"Fred," I responded simply. Hey, it's the truth, even if it is laughable now. Fred is just a friend which, in some ways, is a shame because I probably stand a better chance with him than I do with anyone else.

"Same here," Alicia and Angelina said at the same time and we all started giggling like mad. All of our first crushes had been Fred? Go figure!

"Poor George," Leanne noted.

"No, I liked George at one point too," Angelina said. Alicia was nodding. "I've had dirty dreams about the two of them—together," she added and I couldn't help but laugh. That's Angelina for you.

"Okay, truth or dare, Leanne?" Alicia asked, ignoring the fact that it was my turn to ask the question.

"Um, truth," Leanne said, obviously surprised to be included.

"If you could date any Gryffindor, who would it be?" Leanne looked at me apologetically before answering and in that moment I knew exactly who she was going to say.

"Oliver Wood," She replied, and even though I was prepared for it, it still stung.

"Oh, thinking big," Alicia said and laughed at her own joke. She then seemed to be pondering something for a few moments as a small frown crossed her face. "You know," she finally said, "I can't even remember the last time I saw Oliver with a girl."

"He _does_ date," Angelina said, also frowning, "but nothing serious. Quidditch is his life—his love. Honestly though, if you stood in front of him naked, holding a Firebolt, he'd be more interested in the Firebolt." Hmmm, I'd have to try that.

When the carriage finally arrived at Hogwarts we walked into the great Hall and sat down at our house tables, waiting for the sorting to start. And when it did, I swear to God it was longer than all three of my other sorting ceremonies combined. This may have had more to do with the fact that I hadn't eaten in twelve hours than actually reality, however.

Finally the feast began and I dug into the food directly in front of me. I didn't even bother putting it on a plate. Rather unladylike, I know. It _was_ faster though.

After my initial hunger was sated, I scanned the table and was intrigued to find Oliver having a conversation with Percy Weasley. That's an odd couple. On further examination, however, it was obvious he was giving Oliver a lesson on responsibility. He was continually pointing at his own Head Boy badge and then at Oliver's Quidditch Captain one.

Oliver didn't look like he was listening. Percy was glowering at his apathetic attitude when Oliver suddenly looked up—straight at me. I should have looked away but something was keeping my eyes there. He looked surprised to find me staring but he quickly recovered. He rolled his eyes and gestured to Percy. I gave him what I hoped was an encouraging smile.

Percy was still talking when Oliver suddenly got up, grabbed his plate, and walked half way down the table to sit across from me. Unfortunately, Percy followed.

"All I'm saying is that the younger kids are going to look up to you and you need to set an example," Percy said, seemingly unbothered by the fact that Oliver had just moved to avoid him.

"Percy?" Oliver said through gritted teeth, and Percy looked eager, almost as if Oliver was about to start asking questions. "I'm, saying this with all due respect, mate. You really need to get laid." My jaw dropped and looking over I noticed that Angelina and Alicia had similar looks on their faces. Percy blushed and quickly excused himself. Was he really always that polite?

"I wish I hadn't said that," Oliver said when Percy was gone.

"Why?" Angelina asked cheerfully. "I think he needed to hear it. Penelope's been begging for ages!"

"Yeah, but I have to share a dorm with him and Lord knows it's going to take him all year to realize I wasn't trying to make fun of him."

Professor Dumbledore then stood up and gave the start-of-term speech but I wasn't paying much attention. I wandered through the rest of my night in a sort of dreamlike state; between the Dementors and the close proximity to Oliver at dinner, I was totally out of it. When I finally got to sleep, however, I dreamed about how good his eyes felt on mine.

_Review! PLEASE! It doesn't even have to be long. A period (.) will do, although an exclamation point (!) would be better. I just want to know that people are reading and enjoying my story. Got questions? Ask them. I'll answer if it doesn't spoil the plot._

_Next time on _Love and Quidditch:

"_Angelina, what are you doing?" I hissed to no effect._

"_If I may have your attention, please," she said, addressing the now silent common room. "If I could have all single guys fourth year and up come over here, please." My jaw dropped. Literally. I probably looked like a goldfish that had been hit by a semi-truck. I could feel my cheeks flushing and the embarrassment only deepened when over a dozen eager guys actually followed her orders._

"_Ok, Katie. Spin the bottle," she said, grinning broadly._

_Thanks for reading! _


	2. Surprise!

_A/N: I want to thank everyone who reviewed. I appreciate every one of them. I would also like to thank SunnyDropped for helping me get this story posted._

_Disclaimer: I own nothing even remotely recognizable. Pinky swear._

_Surprise!:::_

Okay, so it only took me all of one week to figure out that I'm going to fail Transfiguration without a tutor. I know that I sucked last year, but isn't the summer supposed to somehow make you good again? Like some sort of restoration period or something? It's ridiculous though. I can't even transfigure a damn button.

"Ughh!" I groaned over my homework one night, slamming my head down on the table. I don't recommend doing that by the way.

"Are you all right?" a voice said, sitting down next to me. Why does _he_ always have to show up when I least want to see him?

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said, lifting my head. A piece of parchment came up with it. God, that's embarrassing! Oliver laughed and pulled it off of my forehead.

"You don't look fine," he noted. Very observant, that one.

"It's just this stupid essay for McGonagall!" I cried, once again hysterical. "I just don't understand it and if my grade drops any lower I'm going to get kicked off of the Quidditch team, so this is really your problem too!" That's right, Katie, share the pain.

"It's only a week into classes and you're already behind?" he joked. I knew he was joking; I really did. So why did I have to get mad at him? Me and my stupid temper!

"Look, if you're going to make fun of me, you can just leave," I said glaring at him.

"I'm not trying to make fun of you," he said, laughing. "Do you want me to help?"

"I think I'm beyond help but you're welcome to try," I said throwing my quill aside. He reached across me to grab my textbook and that's when it hit me: Oliver Wood's helping me with my homework! I don't know why it hit me right then, probably because his hand was like two inches away from my breasts, but it hit me all the same. He grabbed my book and set it between us.

As he started flipping through the pages, I started thinking in overdrive. I hadn't done something stupid like scribble Mrs. Oliver Wood on my book had I? I'm not normally the kind of girl to defile textbooks with guy's names, but Oliver makes me do crazy things.

"Okay, look. Right here," he said stopping on a page. "Copy this down.

OoO

I think Oliver's a better teacher than McGonagall. Easier on the eyes too. My grades are improving, anyway. Oliver still insists that we meet twice a week to go over my work, however, and I'm definitely not about to complain.

The first month of school zoomed by and I'm honestly glad I had those study sessions to look forward to or I probably would have gone crazy. Soon, however, my days drifted into routine and I just wanted something to make life a little more interesting. I got my wish on September 24th—my birthday. I woke up early and it took me a while to figure out why.

It suddenly hit me what today was and I leapt out of bed. Sure enough, waiting for me and the end of my bed was a stack of presents. Happy 15th Birthday, Katie! Is it bad that the only thought running through my head at that moment was that now Oliver and I are only two years apart? Yeah, I think that's bad.

I rolled my eyes at myself (that's sad, isn't it?) and then, like a little kid, began unwrapping my presents. Angelina and Alicia had gone together and gotten me a whole basket of what they call "beautification products." They are always complaining that I don't take enough care of myself.

In the basket were the following items, most of which will never be used: make-up, hair products, hair clips, nail polish, some tight tops, and a matching bra-thong set. I seriously hope the last item was a gag gift because if they think I'm going to wear that, then they have another think coming.

Fred and George provided a bag of pranks, Leanne one of her favorite romance novels, Harry a broom-servicing kit, and my dad a CD from one of my favorite muggle bands. Never mind that I won't be able to listen to it until Christmas; it's the thought that counts. Finally, there was only one present left. I had purposefully saved Oliver's until last. When all of the others were opened, I turned to his.

Even though my expectations hadn't been high to begin with, I was rather disappointed when I unwrapped a copy of _Quidditch Through the Ages_. I was just about to throw the book against the wall, I was so mad, when I noticed a book mark sticking out of it. I quickly opened the book and there on the front page was an inscription.

_To my star chaser,_

_Happy Birthday, Katie! Hopefully age comes with Transfiguration skills because I won't be around forever. I know you've probably read this book before so I guess my main present for you this year is a piece of advice._

_Katie, you are by far the most awesome girl I've ever met. With talent like yours, you can do anything you want with your life. Don't waste that. Always live life to the fullest and never leave your feelings unsaid. That's the one thing I wish I'd known two years ago but now it's too late. I've made mistakes in my life and it would kill me to see you do the same._

_I care about you, Katie, so take care of yourself!_

_Sincerely,_

_Oliver Wood_

I read it through several times before I stopped to analyze it. Was there a deeper meaning to this?

_I care about you, Katie…_

I read it through once more. It wasn't particularly romantic. It sounded more like something my dad would tell me, a dad or a—_older brother_!

No! Damn you, Oliver Wood! I am not your sister!

Depressed by this turn of events, I got back into bed and decided that I wanted to sleep in late. It's my birthday and by God I'm going to get some beauty sleep. It's also a Saturday; that helps.

OoO

"Wake up, sleepy head," someone said, plopping down on the foot of my bed.

"Geroff," I groaned, pulling a pillow over my face.

"Come on, Bell," Alicia said, still trying to wake me. "We have the whole day planned." I just groaned.

"Here, get dressed," Angelina said, throwing me some of the clothes her and Alicia had gotten me. Another groan.

"Katie Bell, if you don't wake up right now I'm going to tell Cormac McLaggen that you want a _special_ birthday present," Angelina threatened.

"You wouldn't," I hissed wide awake.

"Oh, wouldn't I?" she replied with a malicious glint in her eyes. I had no desire to test her resolve.

"OUT!" I shouted. "This isn't your room, so _out_!" They just laughed as they headed towards the door.

"Fifteen minutes then I'm going to find McLaggen," Angelina said at the door.

"She's going to need more than fifteen minutes," Alicia said looking me over. I pushed her the rest of the way out of the room and slammed the door behind them.

I then got dressed in my new outfit and was actually surprised when I found myself liking what I saw. I was wearing tight black jeans and a simple white—granted rather fitted—t-shirt, but somehow it made me look more feminine.

In a burst of confidence that I would probably regret later, I pulled my hair out of the elastic that was holding it up and watched as it fell onto my shoulders. Wow, my hair is long! I've never noticed that before.

I quickly applied a minimal amount of make-up and then made it down into the common room in less than ten minutes. Take that, Alicia! I was directly in front of my two friends by the time they spotted me. Alicia took in my appearance with wide eyes and a slack jaw.

"Oh—my—god!" Angelina said, turning me around to stare at my butt.

"Shut up! I know I look horrible," I exclaimed trying to get them to leave me alone.

"No, Katie," Alicia said as if I'd suggested that we try and rob Gringotts. "You look great!" Angelina was nodding. Who knew they were such good liars?

"If you don't believe us, then look behind you," Angelina said with a smirk. I turned around slowly and found myself looking at the wide eyes of Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan. Even I couldn't mistake that look: lust. Damn, now I am going to have two third years slobbering uncontrollably in my presence.

"Ok, so like I was saying, we have your whole day planned," Alicia started.

"I'm sorry guys but I promised Leanne…"

"We know," Angelina interrupted. "We factored that in. She only has you until 7 and then…"

"I meet Oliver at 7 to go over Transfiguration notes."

"We know, Katie," Alicia said calmly. "Oliver promised he'd have you back by 8:30 and then we're going to have a girl's night—sound good?"

"Uh, yeah," I replied.

"Good," Angelina said. "We'll see you at 8:30 then."

OoO

Every birthday that I can remember, I've spent it with Leanne. It's almost like a tradition. We walked around the castle and grounds all day just talking. It's nice talking to someone I don't have to hide my feelings for a certain Quidditch Captain from.

It was probably the fault of those particular feelings that I was ecstatically happy to be leaving Leanne after dinner. A full hour and a half alone with Oliver, here I come!

Well, my transfiguration homework will be there too. Three really is a crowd…

"Hey," he greeted as I sat down across from him at our usual table in the back of the library. He seemed to be taking in my appearance and for the first time ever, I wasn't self conscious. In fact, it felt nice, his eyes greedily roaming my body. "You look good," he finally chocked out. Was I misreading signs again or was he giving me the same look that Dean and Seamus had given me earlier? Guys don't give their sisters that look, do they?

"Thanks," I said confidently. Today was my day. "And thanks for the book."

"Oh, no problem," he said, never making eye contact. He then pulled _Transfiguration Today_ out of my bag and started pointing out passages.

I did fairly good paying attention for the first hour but then I started getting restless and my mind began to wander. Not far though, just one seat over.

"Oliver, have you ever had a girlfriend?" I asked, surprising even myself.

"What?" he asked bewildered. He's like Professor Binns when he teaches, I swear. You can't even interrupt him correctly. I repeated the question. I probably should have denied that I'd said anything but if not today, then when?

"Yeah," he answered after a while. "Nothing serious, but yeah."

"Oh," I said. "I was just wondering because I've never seen you with anyone." He looked away shyly for a second and it was so out of character that I wanted to just hug him.

"What about you?" he finally asked. "Any boyfriends?"

"A few," I admitted. "Nothing major."

"I've never seen you with any guys," he said, nervously playing with his hand.

"Yeah, well you wouldn't have. Most of my relationships have just been flings with muggles." Hey, it's the truth! What else is there to do during the summer?

"So are you dating anyone now?" he asked after a second.

"Nope," I replied.

"Good," he said, locking his dark brown eyes with my blue ones. "Me neither," he added almost as an after thought. Is he trying to hint at something? And they say girls are hard to understand!

"So, anyway," he said, beginning to gather my things, "I promised I'd have you back by eight thirty and I don't think Angelina would be too happy if you showed up late." He then put my books in my bag, put my bag on his shoulder, took me by the hand and pulled me out of the library towards the common room.

He was talking about something—Quidditch, I think—but I wasn't really paying any attention; I'm much too preoccupied with the feel of his hand in mine. How _rig_ht it feels! But before long we were in Front of the Fat Lady and he let go of my hand.

"_Fortuna Major_," he said to the portrait.

"Right you are," she said and swung forward. Before I had even taken a step, arms were wrapped around me as the whole common room shouted "SURPRISE!"

Angelina and Alicia pulled my shocked form through the portrait hole, both laughing at my surprise.

"So, what do you think?" Alicia yelled over all of the chatter, gesturing at the massive turnout.

"Oh my god, there's food!" I said, gesturing at the table filled with butterbeer and Honeyduke's chocolate.

"Fred and George did that," Angelina yelled over the noise, grabbing a butterbeer for herself and taking a swig. As if on cue, the Weasley twins appeared at my side.

"Happy Birthday, Mrs. Bell," the said at the same time and then pulled me onto the dance floor without another word. I was caught in the middle of them as they danced wildly to the music playing on an old phonograph. I'm an athlete for a reason and that reason is because I can't dance. At all. Under any circumstances.

"Now that won't do, Mrs. Bell," George said, taking my hand as Fred ran off and pulled Angelina onto the dance floor. Angelina rolled her eyes at me and I was about to make a joke when George suddenly spun me around wildly and then pulled me back in so that we were only an inch apart. Horny prat. He spun me out once more and I couldn't help but laugh. How in the name of heaven did George Weasley get to be a better dancer than me? Not that it takes much talent but…

I was soon passed from George to Fred, from Fred to Angelina, Angelina to an unsuspecting friend of Oliver's, Cullen Burke, and Cullen to Lee Jordan. By the time the song I was dancing to with Lee ended, I honestly was about to pass out from being forced to dance for so long. My two left feet were sore!

I excused myself and went to get a goblet of pumpkin juice. I had barely taken a sip, however, when Angelina began dragging me away again.

"No more dancing," I moaned.

"Agreed," she said with an evil glint in her eye.

"Angelina?" I said warily. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing you won't thank me for later," she replied, going to the middle of the room and standing on a chair.

"Angelina, what are you doing?" I hissed to no effect.

"If I may have your attention, please," she said addressing the now silent common room. "If I could have all single guys fourth year and up come over here, please." My jaw dropped. Literally. I probably looked like a goldfish that had been hit by a semi-truck. I could feel my cheeks flushing and I only got more embarrassed when over a dozen eager guys actually followed her orders.

"Ok, Katie. Spin the bottle," she said, grinning broadly. She downed the rest of her butterbeer and handed me the bottle.

"Absolutely not," I hissed at her, if for no other reason than the fact that Fred and George were both standing in the group of assembled guys, looking amused. Ew! I can't imagine either of them kissing anybody—even though they are total players—and I definitely can't see them kissing me.

"What? Are you scared Katie?" Fred asked loudly. Damn it! He knows I can't back down from a challenge.

"Shut up, Weasley," I fired back. Good job, Katie; very original.

"Come on, Katie," Angelina encouraged. "It'd be rude not to."

"I'll never forgive you for this," I hissed and then reluctantly spun the bottle. Why, oh why am I such a pushover? As the bottle spun around, I looked up and found Oliver's eyes locked on mine. The sad thing is that I really, truly do not want that bottle to land on him. I want our first kiss to be special; not the result of some silly game. As the bottle began to slow down, my heart started beating faster.

And then the bottle stopped.

Dead center between Lee Jordan and Cullen Burke. I let out a relieved sigh. No matter how bad of a kisser either of them is, they aren't Oliver—or Fred or George for that matter.

"It's closer to Cullen," Angelina said, swiftly picking the bottle up and removing all evidence of the contrary.

Oh god, now Cullen's walking towards me. Damn it, I barely know him. Sure, he's super cute and all but that doesn't mean I want to make out with him. Well, okay, maybe just a little but this is just downright embarrassing.

"So," he said when he got close enough that only I could hear.

"So," I agreed.

"I think we're supposed to kiss," he noted.

"Yeah, I do believe that is how the game works." He laughed gently and then put one hand on each side of my face, before leaning in and kissing me gently. And I'll be the first person to admit that Cullen Burke is a great kisser. And a seventh year. Does that make me fair game for Oliver?

"Happy Birthday, Katie," he said slowly backing away.

"Yeah, you too," I replied. Wait, what? "I mean…"

"I get it," he laughed and turned away. God, I'm such an idiot! I need another butterbeer…

"Katie?" a voice said from behind me. It was Oliver.

"Oh, hey," I greeted.

"Angelina kind of shanghaied you into that, didn't she," he said with a laugh.

"Yeah, I'm totally going to kill her," I said, temper immediately flaring at the mention of Angelina. The music suddenly turned to a slow song and that strangely worked to calm me down.

"So, do you want to dance?" Oliver asked and I must have looked like a complete idiot for a few seconds because then he started rambling which is what he does when he thinks he's said the wrong thing.

"Of course I'll dance with you, Oliver," I interrupted and then he smiled and I could literally feel my heart melting inside my body. He pulled me close and I rested my head on his shoulder as we swayed to the music.

"Happy Birthday," he whispered into my ear and I couldn't help but agree with him.

OoO

_Review!_

_Next time on _Love and Quidditch

"_You don't have to be in love with someone to want to kiss them, Bell. It's a science," Fred whispered and lowered his head so that our foreheads were touching. I could tell then that he was going to kiss me and strangely the idea didn't repulse me like it had only a few nights ago._

"_No dating team members!" an angry cry sounded from behind us and we quickly pulled apart. Oliver was standing there with an angry gleam in his eye._


	3. Quidditch

_Disclaimer: This chapter contains dialogue from page 143 of _The Prisoner of Azkaban, which belongs to J.K. Rowling.

_Quidditch:::_

As October began, Oliver was rarely seen outside the company of his handy, dandy playbook. That could only mean one thing: Quidditch season has arrived. He is always alone, sometimes even skiving off of classes to spend more time making plays as McGonagall made sure the whole Great Hall knew early one Tuesday morning. He honestly should have known better than to skip _her_ class.

And speaking of Transfiguration, it is quickly becoming one of my favorite subjects. The more homework the better, because Oliver is still sticking to his promise and meeting with me two times a week to work through my Transfiguration retardation.

On our first study session since his recluse had started, I firmly convinced myself that he wouldn't show, so it was a pleasant surprise when he joined me at our usual table in the library. I spent ten minutes trying to convince him to leave my hopeless self and go work on Quidditch, but he refused to leave until he'd seen me turn a teacup into a goblet.

God, he's so perfect.

I'm starting to get those younger sister vibes again, though. Does he have siblings? Cause if so, I really think he's using me to practice on.

For example, the other day I was talking to Cullen Burke in the hallway (turns out he's a really decent guy) and all of a sudden Oliver's pulling me away—mid-sentence I might add—and talking about some new chaser formation he wants to try. Can you say overprotective much?

It was the first Thursday in October when Wood finally called us all together to talk tactics. We were gathered in the Gryffindor locker room when Oliver walked in with that glint in his eye that is only produced by the thought of Quidditch. God, how often do I wish he got that look while thinking about me?

"This is our last chance—my last chance—to win the Quidditch Cup," he began without further ado. "I'll be leaving at the end of this year. I'll never get another shot at it." Damn; way to ruin the mood. "Gryffindor hasn't won for seven years now," he continued. "Okay, so we've had the worst luck in the world—injuries—then the tournament getting called off last year…." He paused and we could tell that he was trying to repress those particular memories. Yeah, okay, he's a little bit obsessed. "But we also know that we have the best-ruddy-team-in-the-school!"

"We've got three superb chasers," he said, gesturing to Angelina, Alicia, and myself. Thank you, thank you very much.

"We've got two unbeatable beaters."

"Stop it, Oliver, you're embarrassing us," the twins said together, pretending to blush. Oliver ignored them and continued his well-rehearsed monologue.

"And we've got a seeker who has _never failed to win us a match_!" he said fiercely, pointing to Harry. There was silence for a few seconds. "Oh, and me," he added as an afterthought.

"We think you're good too, Oliver," George said. Agreed.

"Spanking good keeper," Fred added. It looked like Oliver was going to smile for all of two seconds, but I guess he changed his mind. I wish he wouldn't; I love his smile.

"The point is, the Quidditch Cup should have had our name on it these last two years. Ever since Harry joined the team, I've thought the thing was in the bag." I joined the team the same year as Harry but notice how he doesn't mention me? Yeah; it looks like I might have some competition for Oliver's affections. "But we haven't got it, and this year's the last chance we'll get to finally have our name on the thing…."

"Oliver, this is our year," Fred said seriously.

"We'll do it, Oliver," Angelina added.

"Definitely," Harry agreed.

"Okay guys," Oliver dismissed us, "practice three nights a week, starting tomorrow." Oh joy.

OoO

The next night I was walking down to the Quidditch pitch when I was unexpectedly joined by the Weasley twins.

"Bonjour, Mrs. Bell," Fred greeted in his best French accent.

"Bonjour, Mr. Weasley and Mr. Weasley," I replied back. They then began talking about Quidditch and the torture Oliver was going to put us through but I wasn't listening. I was slightly distracted by the looks some girls were throwing me as we walked, Fred with his arm casually draped across my shoulders. Maybe Fred and George were more popular than I'd realized…

Oliver spent the first hour going over plays and such, but then—finally!—we got to fly. I love flying. All of your worries are forgotten once you're in the air. It's like chicken soup for the Quidditch player's soul, I swear.

We fly well together; we all know it, and unless disaster strikes (yet again), then I don't see why we can't win the Cup.This practice we're just working on the basics, but by the end of it Oliver had stopped yelling so I took that as a good sign.

"Good practice, guys," he said after two hours of doing drills. "Our first match is against Slytherin so we're going to have to kick up our game." We all just stand there nodding. There's no use in interrupting him in the middle of one of his pep talks. He continued talking for at least another half hour and I'm not the only one who almost dozed off.

"Ok team, hit the showers." Finally! We all headed for the changing rooms where the girls went one way, while the guys went the other to their separate showers. I washed quickly and then walked back into the main area to stow my robes in my locker before heading back to my dorm. Harry was already there packing his stuff.

"See you later, Katie," he said, heading for the door.

"Yeah, you too, Harry," I said as he left. He's such a sweet boy. I feel sorry for him sometimes; all the stuff he has to go through. I grabbed my bag and turned to follow him.

When I turned, however, I found a body blocking my way. Fred. He was standing less than inch from me. How does he manage to get into rooms without me noticing?

"Damn it, Weasley, don't do that!"

"What? Am I getting your hormones all in a twist?" I rolled my eyes. Why does Fred insist on flirting with everything that has two legs and breasts? And why do I always insist on playing along? I'm such a hopeless flirt.

"Maybe," I said stepping closer to him. He put his arms around my waist and gave me a smirk.

"Well, I guess I'll have to do something about that, then," he bent down to whisper in my ear and an involuntary shudder ran through my body. What; it tickled!

"You don't have to be in love with someone to want to kiss them, Bell. It's a science," he whispered and lowered his head so our foreheads were touching. I could tell then that he was going to kiss me and strangely the idea didn't repulse me like it had only a few nights ago.

"_No dating team members_!" an angry cry sounded from behind us and we quickly pulled apart. Oliver was standing there with an angry gleam in his eye.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Fred asked, not the least bit embarrassed.

"You heard me," Oliver yelled right back, bringing Angelina, Alicia, and George into the room. "No dating team members!"

"What?!" Angelina, Alicia, and George cried at the same time that Fred said, "We're not dating, Wood!" Then, a cacophony of voices sounded through the room but I managed to tune them out. I was just mutely staring at Oliver and watching as he stared right back. What was going on in his mind? Does this mean that I have absolutely no chance with him?

"Oliver, this isn't fair," Fred said breaking into my reverie. "Me and Katie were just messing around. Are you honestly saying that if I really wanted to, I couldn't date Angelina or Alicia?" For some reason I was getting the feeling that Fred wasn't speaking for himself anymore. I looked up and noticed George staring hard at Alicia. Aw! They'd make such a cute couple. Why does George have to be the shy twin? Ok, well the shy-er twin. He's the only one of them that can actually hold a relationship for longer than a week.

"Dating team members just complicates things," Wood explained calmly, looking at all of us in turn. "What happens if you break up?" It sounded to me like he was making things up off of the top of his head and Fred seemed to think so too.

"You don't give a rat's ass if_ we_ date each other," he said gesturing behind him to Alicia, Angelina, and George. "All you care about is _her_," he said, looking at me. Oliver turned bright red. What is going on? "Well, guess what?" Fred continued. "If you don't make a move, someone else will." And with that he filed out of the changing room taking the other three with him.

And then there were two.

Oliver's eyes met mine and for all of two seconds I thought he was going to say something but then he left and I was alone.

What the hell did Fred mean? _Make a move or someone else will_. Does Fred know something I don't? Is it really possible that Oliver Wood has feelings for me?

OoO

Saturday. It's the weekend—finally! It's also one of the days that I normally study with Oliver, although I highly doubt that he's going to show up after that episode last night. I headed for the library at seven, nonetheless. Optimism has always been one of my strong points—at least when Oliver's concerned.

I quickly scanned the library and was unsurprised to find that Oliver was no where in sight. I sat down anyway, and tried to work through my Transfiguration homework alone.

Ten minutes went by—then fifteen…. It's obvious Oliver's not going to show. He's never late. I was just about to get up and leave when Fred and George's younger sister, Ginny, came over to me.

"Katie?" she asked hesitantly. Is my disappointment so obvious on my face that a second year decided to come comfort me? God, I'm pathetic.

"Yes, Ginny?" I said forcing a smile.

"Wood told me to give you this," she said and handed me a letter. I thanked her and watched as she walked away.

I opened the letter and took in every word:

_Dear Katie,_

_I'm sorry, but I can't make it to our usual study session tonight. I'm really busy right now with Quidditch and I apologize but I won't be able to help you with Transfiguration for a while._

_Sorry Again,_

_Oliver Wood_

I crumpled the note into a ball and stuffed it into my bag. Quidditch, my ass. Does he really think I'm such an idiot? He's embarrassed about last night if anything. And since when does he sign his surname on a letter to me?

Over the next couple of days I watched Oliver closely. He hasn't been making eye contact with me lately, which I now realize is a strange occurrence. We used to say hello to each other in the hallways and our eyes would sometimes meet in the Great Hall. I know because I was always so happy when this would happen because I knew that in that one moment, he was thinking about me. I tried to corner him after Quidditch practice a few nights ago, but he practically ran back to the castle after dismissing us.

It's official: he's avoiding me.

But why? Does he really have feelings for me after all? Or am I just over thinking things once again?

OoO

"Katie, over here!" Angelina called to me one afternoon, standing by the notice board. I put my homework down (it was Potions so it can wait) and headed over to her.

"What is it?" I asked and she pointed to a flyer.

"That's perfect!" I exclaimed. "I am so ready for a break."

"Yup, Hogsmeade next weekend," she said happily. "And on Halloween too!" She then called Alicia, who had just walked into the common room, over and we repeated the whole process.

"Girls, I have an idea," Angelina said as we took seats by the fire.

"Oh no," Alicia and I said together.

"Why don't we make a little bet," she continued, ignoring us. "Each of us has to get a date for Hogsmeade. If we don't, the other two get to pick out a guy that the loser has to kiss." Alicia and I looked at each other warily.

"I'm in," Alicia finally agreed.

"Fine," I groaned.

We'd done this once before. It was on my very first Hogsmeade trip last year. That's how I ended up spending a whole day with Cormac McLaggen. Actually, it wasn't the whole day, which was how I ended up having to kiss Lee Jordan. Alicia's choice—I don't think Angelina would have approved. He still swears it was the best kiss of his life, although he might just be saying that.

But now I've put myself in the same situation that I was in then. I have to convince someone to go to Hogsmeade with me because I don't think they'll let me off as easy as Lee this time. The look on Angelina's face is screaming Marcus Flint.

I went back to my homework, but I was now unable to pay attention. Screw this, Snape can give me a T; I don't care.

Who the hell would want to go to Hogsmeade with me? Maybe that creepy Ravenclaw in my year—he's got really bad acne but he has been flirting with me a little…

What the hell am I saying? God, I'm so stupid! I'm not about to go to Hogsmeade with a guy I don't even like! I could always ask Oliver…Actually, no I couldn't. Whatever, I'll just wait and if a guy doesn't ask me by Saturday I guess Marcus Flint and I will be spending some time together.

_Five days till Hogsmeade._

Okay, this is so unfair! Lee asked Angelina. He asked her! As friends, but still. She didn't even have to grovel! And George agreed to go with Alicia. I don't think that that should count. Those two are like best friends; of course he'd agree to help her. How is it that those two can get dates without even trying and I'm still over here moping because Oliver won't even look at me?

_Three more days…_

Guess what Angelina told me today? Guess! Nope, sorry, you're wrong. Oliver's going to Hogsmeade with that Ravenclaw bitch, Leah. Actually, that was a little uncalled for. I've never met her; I'm just assuming she's a bitch. I'm also assuming that I'm right.

Who knew Oliver dated? Not me, and I'm actually keeping tabs. And during Quidditch season! Is he like high or something? God, I was such an idiot to even briefly think that he liked me. An idiot, I tell you!

_One day till Hogsmeade…_

I guess it really is Marcus Flint for me. Shit!

"Oi, Bell," a voice yelled from across the common room. I looked up from my work that I wasn't paying any attention to and my eyes met Fred's. He turned briefly to look at Oliver who was warily staring back and forth between the two of us. "Want to go to Hogsmeade with me?"

Hell yeah. I knew Fred was just doing this to get back at Oliver for telling him who he can and can't date, but you know, I really don't care. The look on Oliver's face was so worth it and I would pick Fred over Marcus Flint any day.

"Sure," I yelled back. I guess I have a date after all.

OoO

_Please review! I really appreciate all of them…_

_Next time on _Love and Quidditch:

"_Oliver likes you, Katie," Fred finally said and I couldn't help it; I started laughing. He had to be joking, right? If Oliver liked me at all, then he definitely wouldn't be ignoring me—or be in Hogsmeade with another girl for that matter._

"_I'm serious!" Fred continued, annoyed, and that only me laugh harder because Fred is never, ever serious. Never!_

"_Katie!" he shouted, starting to get angry._

"_I'm sorry," I said, crying because I was laughing so hard. "But you're going to have to do better than that if you're trying to trick me."_


	4. Visitor in the Night

_Just a small tidbit before this chapter. They've announced who's playing Katie in _Half-Blood Prince_. Her name is Georgina Leonidas. I couldn't find any pictures, though. Also, thanks to SunnyDropped for reading this chapter and telling me that it didn't suck as bad as I thought it did._

_Disclaimer: Need I really say it? This chapter contains a scene from PoA. I'm too lazy to look up the page number._

_Visitor in the Night:::_

I woke up early this morning and, I am embarrassed to admit it, but spent almost two hours getting ready. Insert gasp here. When I finished, however, I have to admit that I looked pretty damn good.

I had put on a denim mini-skirt with a top that Alicia had given me for my birthday. Now that I think about it, I think Leanne gave me the skirt. Why are all of my good clothes hand-me-downs?

Angelina and Alicia met me in the common room and we went to breakfast together, talking about what all we were going to do in Hogsmeade today. We arrived in the Great Hall and we each sat down across from our respective dates. You know, it's actually kind of easy when everyone dates within their own group of friends. Or extraordinarily complicated—I'm not sure which…

We talked for a bit about this and that but it wasn't long until Angelina, Lee, Alicia, and George took off for the village. I watched them walk out and then turned my attention back to Fred who was looking me over.

"Regretting asking me to go with you?" I asked.

"No, admiring it actually," he responded smoothly and I could feel my face starting to flush. "Come on, Mrs. Bell. The great village of Hogsmeade awaits us."

OoO

Okay, so Fred's definitely going to make a good husband for some girl one day. Dead serious.

When we arrived at the village, he informed me that he had the whole day planned, which was fine with me because I had no clue what to do with Fred. Our first stop was the Hogsmeade branch of Quality Quidditch Supplies and when we walked in, my heart almost stopped.

"Oh my god! That's a Firebolt!" I exclaimed, drawing way too much attention to myself. Fred just chuckled by my side and walked off to look at Beaters' bats while I stood back and admired the Firebolt. God, I've never been this close to one before!

The bell over the door tinkled, signaling a new arrival and I turned to see who it was.

Oliver and Leah. Of course it has to be them. God, why does this shit always have to happen to me?

I quickly went and picked out the pair of Chaser gloves that I had come in here for in the first place and went to pay for them. Maybe Oliver won't notice I'm here…

"Eight sickles," the man said. I reached for my purse (yes, purse!), but before I could even pull the money out, Fred had laid eight sickles on the counter.

"Fred, you don't have to," I protested.

"I want to," he said, grabbing my merchandise. "It's not everyday that I get to buy Quidditch supplies for a beautiful girl." Yeah, and it's not everyday that you get paid either.

There was a crash from directly behind us and I turned to see Oliver picking up the pieces of a Broom Servicing Kit that he had dropped. I can only assume Fred's words had surprised him. Oliver was still apologizing to the manager as we left.

We stopped by Zonko's, Honeydukes, and the Shrieking Shack before Fred finally agreed to end our outing with a trip to the Three Broomsticks. He led me into a booth at the back and then went to get our drinks. The atmosphere would have been perfect if it wasn't for the WANTED: SIRIUS BLACK posters.

"So," Fred said as he sat back down across from me. "What do you say we get to know each other a little better?"

"Excuse me?" I coughed out, chocking on my Butterbeer. Was that supposed to be a pickup line?

"I meant literally," he said laughing.

"Oh," I said calming down. "I hate to break it to you, but we already know each other pretty well, Fred."

"Not as well as I would like to, Bell. Who's the last guy you seriously dated?"

"You don't now him. He's a muggle."

"Don't I at least get a name?"

"No. Because he had a girlfriend at the time."

Fred fake gasped. "You scarlet woman!" I just rolled my eyes.

"I didn't know he had a girlfriend! And I broke up with him after I found out," I defended myself.

"So do I get a name?"

"I said no."

"And I said: do I get a name?"

"Tyler," I finally relented.

"I don't know him," Fred said after thinking about it for a minute.

"I know."

"So does that mean that you've never—shall we say—laid with a man?" he whispered and I once again chocked on my Butterbeer.

"Excuse me?" I asked with a laugh.

"Is your virtue still protected, Mrs. Bell?" he asked and I couldn't help but laugh. He just sounded so innocent.

"My virtue's still very much intact; unlike yours no doubt," I smirked.

"It's not my fault girls like me," Fred said with an evil grin.

"Yeah it's just your fault you can't keep it in your pants. So, why'd you ask me out today?" I asked, just wanting to see how he'd choose to answer that question.

"To get back at Oliver," he said simply. Not even pretending to be interested in me—nice.

"I know that, but why?"

"Because," he said, not looking at me.

"Because why?"

"Because he's being an idiot."

"Why? Just because he doesn't want us to date team mates? I'm not saying I agree, but I can see where he'd get concerned." Fred just stared at me for a few seconds as if debating how much to tell me.

"He likes you, Katie," he finally said and I couldn't help it; I started laughing. He had to be joking, right? If Oliver liked me at all, then he definitely wouldn't be ignoring me—or be in Hogsmeade with another girl for that matter.

"I'm serious!" Fred continued, annoyed, and that only me laugh harder because Fred is never, ever serious. Never!

"Katie!" he shouted, starting to get angry.

"I'm sorry," I said, crying because I was laughing so hard. "But you're going to have to do better than that if you're trying to trick me."

Sure, it'd be great if Oliver was really into me, but I'd faced the facts long ago. Oliver was nothing but a very sweet daydream; fun to think about but just beyond reach.

"Fine, don't believe me," Fred said harshly. "But it's true. He's liked you for ages. Since the end of your second year, actually. He's spent the best part of two years convincing himself that you _weren't_ too young, and that we _wouldn't_ mind if our captain dated a team member. Now that he's got his head on straight, he's being an idiot. Says it's too late—that he's leaving at the end of the year, and that you don't deserve that."

I just sat in silence for a moment. Sure Fred's a good liar, but is he _that_ good?

"Fred, why are you making this up?" I asked, no longer laughing. This must be some kind of joke. He must have somehow figured out who I like and is just giving me shit about it.

"Ugh, Katie! I'm not making this up! Lee heard Oliver telling the whole thing to Cullen Burke after your birthday party." This definitely isn't funny anymore.

"Fred, I swear if you're lying…" I just let the threat hang. He knows that I can kick his ass anyday.

"I'm not lying! Do you want me to prove it to you?" Before I could reply, he was pulling me out of my seat and we were heading towards to castle. "Come on," he said, "I saw Oliver and Leah head back about an hour ago."

That brings up a good point.

"If Oliver is so desperately in love with me, then why the hell would he go to Hogsmeade with another girl?" I challenged as we walked—well, he walked; I was still being pulled—towards the school.

"He's in denial. Thinks that you don't like him and that you'd be much better off without him." I open my mouth to protest. Who said anything about me liking Oliver? "Save your breath, babe," Fred interrupted. "We all know you like him. Well, except for Oliver, but he's always been a bit oblivious." My jaw dropped. Damn! Was I that bloody obvious?

"_Fortuna Major_," he said when we arrived at the portrait hole. Fred quickly looked around to make sure Oliver was there, and then interlaced his fingers with mine, before leading me over to a sofa. What the hell is he doing? "Just play along," he whispered into my ear. I didn't even have to look up to know that Oliver was watching. I sat down next to Fred, closer than I usually would. Might as well do this right…

"Follow my lead," he said and pulled me into his lap. I tried to keep the look of surprise off of my face, but it must have shown. And the little jackass just sat there smirking at me. Just to inform you I'm totally clueless as to what the point of this is, but surely he must know. Bending close he whispered into my ear: "Giggle or something." And so I did.

He started laughing—at me I'm sure. Trust me, I'm no giggler.

We just sat there like that for a few minutes, him whispering what must have looked like sweet nothings into my ear. In reality however, the conversation was going more like this:

"Ok, when I kiss you don't freak out," he said, pulling me closer. "Many girls have said that kissing me is just as good as sex with any other guy."

"You flatter yourself," I said, putting on a smile for show. I looked over Fred's shoulder and saw Oliver staring at us. Just because he's staring doesn't mean he likes me, right? A lot of people are staring. I mean, it's not everyday that you see Fred Weasley with some girl in his lap. Okay, it is; but never me. I'm new!

"I am also legally obligated to warn you about the side effects."

"Side effects?" Doubt.

"Yeah. Clinical studies have shown that kissing me causes a risk of dependence. My lawyers feel that it is necessary for me to warn you of that."

"Is that supposed to be some sort of pick up line?" I asked, still faking a smile.

"I don't need pick up lines, babe."

"God, your ego's so fucking big!"

"That's no the only big thing about me," he said with a wink.

I couldn't help myself. I tuned everything else out and began concentrating on making Fred uncomfortable. I mean, when am I really ever going to get this chance again?

I began shifting my hips sensually across his, trying with all of my might to deflate his ego a bit. It's his fault really. He's the one who pulled me onto his lap.

"Your pants look a little too tight," I said with a smirk.

"God, Katie," he groaned. "You just can't say that to a guy."

"Well then, what are you going to do about it?"

"This," he responded and smashed his lips against mine. I responded with fervor that I didn't know I possessed. Fred ran his tongue along my bottom lip, sending shivers down my spine. I opened my mouth, allowing him entrance.

It might sound really crazy but in that moment I wasn't even thinking about Oliver. I was thinking about Fred. And not in a disgusting way either, just thinking.

Like how many girls has he really had sex with? Or even kissed? And do I amount to any of them? I could feel myself melting into him, letting out all of the sexual frustrations that had built up with Oliver, overflow into Fred. Unfair? Who knows, but he's responding rather enthusiastically so that must be a good sign.

It must have been five minutes later when we finally broke apart, desperate for air. You know, I had had my doubts when Fred started spitting out all of that dependency crap, but let me tell you: the boy knows how to kiss. He could totally get me into his bed anytime that he wanted.

"Come on," he whispered into my ear and I took his hand without question. We were already in his room by the time I realized that we had even moved.

"What are we doing?" I whispered.

"You'll see," he said with an evil glint in his eye. "Take your jacket off."

"What!?"

"Just do it," he urged. I did. God, I'm lame. I probably would have stripped if he'd told me to. Fred just has this way of making you feel comfortable around him. "Now drop it on the floor," he commanded. I did and then we waited. Two minutes…Five minutes…

"Fred, what are we…"

"Shhh!" And then there was a loud banging on the door. Fred smirked and motioned for me to sit down on his bed. Another knock. Fred counted to himself for a few seconds and then ruffled his hair before opening the door. Oliver quickly shoved past him and found me.

"Out," he told me roughly, looking directly at me for the first time in weeks. Normally I wouldn't have argued, but Fred must have passed some of his rebellious spirit into me with that kiss.

"Excuse me?" I argued. Strictly speaking, I have every right to be here. It's only five o'clock.

"Out! Now, Katie!" Oh boy, he's upset.

"What if I don't want to leave?" I asked. Fred was smirking behind Oliver and I knew that this was going way too far. Fred and Oliver have never been on great terms, but they've never hated each other either.

"Katie, the Halloween feast starts in ten minutes," Oliver said, trying to calm himself down. "Go find Angelina or Alicia and go."

"What if I don't want to?"

"GO!" Yes sir.

I fled, but not before I heard Fred say "Jealous much?"

"You have a problem with that?" Oliver said back. "Stay away from her."

I rushed down to the Common Room, hoping beyond hope that those two didn't get into some kind of fight. Mostly because if it was a muggle fist fight, Fred would be dead and then George would come seeking revenge. And then George would be dead and Alicia would be mad at me. It would just be bad. Then again, if they get into a wizard duel, Fred's going to kick Oliver's ass. He may not look it, but the boy's smart.

Three, no four words sum up this night: Oh my _fucking_ God!

Not one to disobey direct orders from my Quidditch captain, I rushed to where Angelina was sitting with Lee and pulled her away, heading for the Great Hall.

"Katie," Angelina groaned. "I was talking to Lee!" And then I'm guessing she saw the look on my face because she stopped struggling and eagerly followed me down the hall.

"What happened to you?" she asked. I must have looked like an idiot, my face stuck somewhere between disbelief and euphoria.

"Fred was right," I managed to choke out.

"About what?" Angelina cried, desperate for information. I was saved from answering, however, when we arrived at the Great Hall, where the Halloween feast was already well underway. She continued to badger me until Lee showed up, during which time she seemed to forget that I was present. That was fine with me.

So Oliver Wood really did like me…or did he? Maybe he just went into big brother mode or something. But even my overanalyzing couldn't mistake the look of jealousy in his eyes. So what did that mean? Did it change anything?

Fred and Oliver both eventually staggered in, neither sporting visible injuries, thankfully. Fred sat down across from me (is he looking for trouble?) and Oliver continued down the table until he finally sat, staring at us. Fred gave me a wide grin and I returned it. God, I was happy. I don't really know why, but I was. Never mind the fact that things are about to get a lot more confusing.

The feast finally ended and people started making their way back to their common rooms. I was way too buzzed to turn in so I decided to make my way—somewhere. Anywhere. It's still an hour until curfew.

I wandered around aimlessly for a few minutes, just thinking. What does all of this mean?

"What do you think you're doing Mrs. Bell?" The stern voice of Professor McGonagall said from behind me.

"I'm—I'm just-"

"Go to the Great Hall—now! It's a danger to be roaming the castle right now."

"Professor—what?"

"Great Hall—now!" Whatever. I changed directions and headed back for the Great Hall. That's the second time tonight someone's ordered me there. Weird.

I still had no clue what was going on when I arrived in the already crowded Great Hall. McGonagall was right behind me and shut the door as soon as I was in.

"The teachers and I need to conduct a thorough search of the castle. I am afraid that, for your own safety, you will have to spend the night here," she addressed the crowd. What the hell is going on?

"Oh yes, you'll be needing…" Professor Dumbledore's voice ran through the hall as hundreds of squashy purple sleeping bags appeared. "Sleep well."

I turned to the person nearest to me, who just so happened to be Ginny Weasley, and asked, "What's going on?"

"Sirius Black tried to break into Gryffindor Tower," she explained, shivering.

Sirius Black? Here? My heart was beating so hard. I stayed with Ginny for a few seconds, trying to calm her down, but it wasn't really working. I was way too freaked to try and help anyone else. Thankfully, Fred and George came over and took Ginny away.

"You okay?" Fred asked. God, I must be as white as a ghost. I've been wandering around the school. Anything could have happened to me!

"I'm fine," I said and he just shrugged and walked towards the other side of the hall.

"Come on, Katie," a gentle voice said from beside me. Oliver. And he was carrying two sleeping bags under his arms. I didn't even have time to argue before he was pulling me to a secluded spot at the back of the hall. He unrolled me a sleeping bag and I quickly got in. Oliver lay next to me and for a minute I forgot all about today and Sirius Black. It was just me and Oliver. It was just perfect.

OoO

_Review! I'm going to try and update one more time before Christmas but I won't make any promises. Happy Holidays everyone._

_Next time on _Love and Quidditch:

"_I want you to say that you don't like Fred like that. He has a different girl in his bed every damn night. You don't deserve that. You don't deserve just being one of the many."_

"_I don't like him in that way and we haven't done anything but that one kiss—I swear." He visibly relaxed. "Oliver, why does it even matter?"_

_He shifted uncomfortably for a minute, but then his eyes found mine and I could tell something big was coming._


	5. The Sleeping Bag Incident

_Disclaimer: I asked Santa to make me J. K. Rowling for Christmas. I guess we'll see if I've been naughty or nice._

_The Sleeping Bag Incident:::_

The lights had been turned out many minutes ago and I was still wide awake—and still next to Oliver. Imagine that. I wonder if he's mad at me. I'd be mad if I'd seen him kissing another girl.

God, this whole thing's caused more problems than it's fixed. Now I'm just deeply confused. You know, in some ways it's worse when you actually have a chance with a guy but nothing happens. I mean think about it. I've gone through the years thinking I had absolutely no chance with Oliver. That way, when he leaves at the end of the year it won't be such a let down. Now I'll forever be wondering if it could really happen between us.

Should I tell Oliver how I feel? That'd be awkward. Plus, isn't it a guy's job to make the first move? Call me old fashioned, but I think that he should take the initiative. Especially since he's my Quidditch captain. If I ask him out, it'd be like sexual harassment or something. Damn! Why is my life never self-explanatory?

"Katie, are you okay?" he asked from next to me.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I whispered back. And then I noticed that I was shivering. Why the hell am I shivering?

"You don't look fine." Thanks.

"I'm just a little freaked I guess," I admitted. Freaked and confused, that's about right.

"Here," he said, shrugging out of his jacket and handing it to me. I thanked him and pulled it on. Oh, sweet warmth. I had to physically restrain myself from pulling it up to my nose and smelling it.

It took me at least another hour to calm down enough to fall asleep. I was almost there when…

"Katie?" Oliver asked tentatively next to me, trying to see if I was awake.

"Hmm," I groaned. Why do people insist on interrupting my sleep? Don't they know that I can't form coherent sentences past like eleven?

"Are you and Fred—together?" he asked after a while. I groaned in response. It made sense in my head, I swear. Give me a break; it's like two in the morning.

"What?" he asked after a minute of silence. Pity he can't read my mind because I really don't feel like talking right now—not even to him.

"No we're not," I clarified.

"So that kiss was…?" he trailed off. He's so cute when he's jealous! Well, actually I wouldn't know because my back is to him and my eyes are closed, but he sounds cute… Did I really just say that?

"That kiss was just Fred being Fred," I said. Another minute of silence.

"Um, Katie. What does that mean?" I turned over to face him. Apparently I'm not going to get any sleep tonight.

"Oliver, what do you want me to say?" He stared at me hard for a few seconds and I didn't expect him to answer. But he did.

"I want you to say that you don't like him like that. Fred has a different girl in his bed every damn night. You don't deserve that. You don't deserve just being one of the many."

"I don't like him in that way and we haven't done anything but that one kiss—I swear." He visibly relaxed. "Oliver, why does it even matter?"

He shifted uncomfortably for a minute, but then his eyes found mine.

"Because I'm in love with you, Katie." I just kept staring at him, trying to figure out if I had heard right. Damn it, Bell, say something.

"Oliver I… "

"What don't you two understand about no talking," Percy Weasley interrupted, lowering his head between Oliver's and mine. "Across the hall, Wood—now!" Oliver rolled his eyes but moved anyway. He was probably happy to get away from me.

So sweet dreams. Yeah right.

OoO

The next few days flew past in a rush filled with rain. The weather was worse than I'd ever seen it at Hogwarts. My study sessions with Oliver had once again been put on hold. Whether this was due to the fact that I still hadn't said a word to him about us, or the fact that our first Quidditch match against Slytherin was drawing nearer, I don't know.

So why haven't I talked to Oliver? Yeah, that's a very good question and honestly I don't know. He likes me; it's been confirmed. So why the hell am I not making any moves to get together with him? Suddenly all of the doubts that I've been repressing have come to the surface.

He's a seventh year! That means he's leaving at the end of the year and there is a very good chance that he'll be moving away to play Quidditch in the god forsaken corners of the Earth. So where would that leave me? In my fifth year at Hogwarts, that's where. Do I really want that? Sure we could have a great year and I have no doubt that it would be the best year of my life, but what would happen after that? I don't think I could handle watching him walk away and knowing that I might not see him for years at a time.

On a different note, Harry's latest brush with death is presenting itself in the form of Sirius Black. Poor boy. Well, as long as he catches the snitch first… Madam Hooch is now overseeing all of our practices and I have no doubt that Oliver has pushed me to the back of his mind. Quidditch is his first love, hands down.

At our final practice before our first match I walked into the changing room to see a distraught Wood. I looked around and found that I was the only team member currently present. Great, I get to calm him down. I might like Oliver but calming him down before a match is next to impossible.

"Oliver," I said, coming up behind him, "I know you won't believe it but we really are ready for this match. We're going to kill Slytherin!"

"That's just the problem—Slytherin!" he shouted and then refused to say another word until the rest of the team arrived. Finally they did and we all sat, waiting for the verdict.

"We're not playing Slytherin! Flint's just been to see me," he started. "We're playing Hufflepuff instead."

"Why?" we all chorused.

"Flint's excuse is that their Seeker's arm's still injured, but it's obvious why their doing it. Don't want to play in this weather. Think it'll damage their chances…." The rumble of thunder sounded in the background—good timing.

"There's _nothing wrong_ with Malfoy's arm!" Harry shouted. "He's faking it!"

"I know that, but we can't prove it," Wood said angrily. "And we've been practicing all those moves assuming that we're playing Slytherin and instead it's Hufflepuff, and their style's quite different. They've got a new captain and Seeker, Cedric Diggory--," he cut off as Alicia, Angelina, and I giggled.

Giggling is not at all like me but I couldn't help it. Diggory is hot.

"What?" Oliver asked, frowning.

"He's that tall, good-looking one, isn't he?" Angelina asked. As if she doesn't know every little detail about his life.

"Strong and silent," I agreed.

"He's only silent because he's too thick to string two words together," Fred said impatiently, staring directly at me. Okay, odd… "I don't know why you're worried, Oliver," he continued, "Hufflepuff is a pushover. Last time we played them, Harry caught the snitch in about five minutes, remember?"

"We were playing in completely different conditions!" Oliver shouted. God, what is he so mad at? Oh, right. Me for not responding to his declaration of love, Flint for canceling the match, Diggory for being Diggory, me again for acknowledging that Diggory is pretty good at being Diggory, and Fred for staring at me like that. Why the hell is he doing that anyway? Oliver then went into a rant about Diggory which I didn't pay all that much attention to. If we don't win this cup, Oliver's probably going to commit suicide.

He dismissed us about five minutes later; must have forgotten that we haven't had practice yet…

"Oliver?" I asked hesitantly when everyone else had left.

"What?" he asked, turning to me. Have I ever mentioned his eyes? They're this perfect shade of—right, not the right time.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"No, not really." Short, sweet, and to the point.

"We can handle Hufflepuff," I assured him. "Harry's the best Seeker Gyffindor has ever seen and--"

"Katie, I really don't want to talk about this right now."

"Well, okay, but I really don't think that you need to stress out about this. You need to calm down or you're going to make everybody else nervous."

"You want me to calm down?" he asked stiffly, taking a step nearer. The anger had completely left his voice. Oh please God let me not be imagining this. He placed his hands on my waist and I began to feel all coherent thoughts slip away. "You're the only one who knows how to calm me down, Katie." True.

He pulled me closer and brushed a stray hair behind my ear, sending shivers down my spine. God, this is so much better than Fred. Our lips were only centimeters apart when the perfect moment was interrupted.

"Katie?!" a voice called from outside. Fred. Oliver closed his eyes in frustration but quickly recovered and pulled away from be before Fred barged in. I'm going to have to talk to him about his timing. "There you are," he said, locating me. "Come on; Ange, Alicia, Lee, George, and I are going to raid the kitchens."

I threw one last glance at Oliver and then followed Fred outside into the rain.

OoO

The day of our match against Hufflepuff dawned bright and sunny. Not. It's the worst day of the year so far! Slytherin's a load of wankers—smart wankers, but wankers nonetheless.

Wood didn't even bother giving us a pep talk when we arrived; there is no possible 'pep' in this weather. He just gestured us onto the field.

When I walked onto the pitch, I was almost knocked off of my feet by the power of the wind. Fred, who was behind me, grabbed my waist to keep me grounded. I faintly saw Madam Hooch put her whistle to her lips and I rose into the air. I just saw Angelina get the quaffle when the rain picked up and my visibility was diminished.

If the Quaffle came my way, I grabbed it and did my best to get it through a hoop. Who knows if I succeeded or not. I can't see a damn thing. I almost flew into another player about five times and I'm pretty sure George hit a bludger at me, thinking I was a member of the opposing team.

My favorite part, however, would have to be when one of the Hufflepuff chasers got confused and scored a goal for us. How sweet is that?

Oliver called a timeout about two hours into the game, though I have no idea what he said. I did notice a fork of lightning though. I'm going to die out here aren't I?

Shortly after we returned to the air I felt a shiver rock my body and I froze where I was (holding the quaffle, too). An intense cold I'd only experienced once before came over me and I knew without looking that there were a few extra guests at today's match. Dementors. Before that realization had fully penetrated my head, Madam Hooch's whistle was blowing as a silver figure issued across the field at the creatures.

The match is over? And then I got close enough to see it. Cedric Diggory clutching the snitch and Harry lying lifeless on the ground.

OoO

"Lucky the ground was so soft," George said staring down at Harry's unconscious form. We were still soaking wet and in our muddy uniforms. I was shivering but it didn't matter. As long as Harry's okay…Oliver's not here. I think he's too upset. Even I can't believe that we lost.

"I thought he was dead for sure," Fred said. Well, that's one way to think positive.

"But he didn't even break his glasses," I noted. Christ, he's the luckiest boy in the world.

"That was the scariest thing I've ever seen in my life," Angelina said. I don't think I've ever seen her this solemn.

"Harry! How're you feeling?" Fred asked suddenly and I turned to find our Seeker awake. It's a miracle, I tell you.

"What happened?" he said, sitting up in a flash.

"You fell off," Fred continued. "Must've been—what—fifty feet?" It felt more like 2000…

"We thought you'd died," Alicia said, shaking.

"We didn't—_lose?" _Harry asked worriedly. Kid, you really need to sort out your priorities. You almost died! This is Oliver's fault.

"Diggory got the snitch just after you fell. He didn't realize what had happened. When he looked back and saw you on the ground, he tried to call it off. Wanted a rematch. But they won fair and square…even Wood admits it," George explained.

"Where is Wood?"

"Still in the showers," said Fred. "We think he's trying to drown himself." Committing suicide—just like I said he would. The boys then started talking about our chances at the Cup, but I wasn't listening. It came as a relief when Madam Pomfrey finally kicked us out. Then, without thinking, I headed straight to where I knew Oliver would still be—the showers.

I ran through the rain as fast as I could but I was once again soaking when I entered the Gryffindor changing rooms. The sound of a shower reached me from the boy's side and it was apparent that Oliver didn't plan on coming out any time soon.

The first thing I did was strip out of my wet Quidditch robes and change into a track suit that I keep in my locker. Much better. Sure, a shower would be nice but I'm cold and the rain's washed me off enough anyways. Plus, I think Oliver's more important right now.

I waited almost ten minutes, until I just didn't feel like waiting anymore. "Oliver Wood, get out here now," I cried, opening the door to the boy's showers. There was a loud thump and a muffled 'damn', then the water turned off. I shut the door and then went back and sat on the bench in the center of the room, waiting for him to come out. He finally emerged a few minutes later in jeans and a T-shirt. His hair was wet and he looked absolutely adorable.

"So," he said, not really making eye contact with me. Things have been so awkward between us lately and I honestly have no clue where we stand.

"So," I agreed.

"We lost," he said softly and I could tell just how depressed he was.

"It's not the end of the world, Oliver," I said encouragingly. "We can still win the Cup. As long as Hufflepuff loses to Ravenclaw."

"I don't want to talk about this right now." Silence.

"Harry's fine by the way," I said rather coldly.

"That's good. I'll go see him tomorrow. I think I owe him an apology." Smart Boy. "What are you doing here, Katie?" Now would be a perfect time to tell him how I feel, right? So why is that so much easier said than done?

"I honestly don't know," I said. And I really don't. I don't know why it's as if I'm magnetically attracted to him.

Ok, so I'm not really being fair am I? Oliver told me how he feels so I should do the same to him, right?

"Oliver?" I said warily. He just looked at me expectantly. Maybe he can read minds after all. "I like you too. I was too scared to say it before, but there it is. I like you."

"I shouldn't have told you like that, Katie," he said after a while and my heart fell. What is he getting at? "I like you Katie--a lot. But I don't know if I can be with you. Quidditch—I need to concentrate on Quidditch right now. Scouts are going to start coming to the games and I need to be in top shape. I've just got some thinking to do."

"Yeah, okay," I said. And as much as it hurt to hear him say that, I knew that it was for the best. I don't want to rush into a relationship that he's going to regret later.

And then for the first time since before Halloween, we talked. Really talked. Not about us, not about Quidditch, just talked. And when we finally left the changing rooms, the rain had stopped and night had fallen.

OoO

_Don't get mad at me just yet. They get together soon, I promise. I don't know how long it'll take me to update again; the holidays are kind of busy. Hopefully, it won't take longer than a week. So, Happy Holidays, y'all._

_Next time on _Love and Quidditch

"_Well then, what if _I_ asked you?" I stood there stunned for several seconds. No way is Fred seriously asking me out. He's like my brother. Granted, a brother that can kiss very well, but still…_

"_What?" I said, barely louder than a whisper._

"_Will you go to Hogsmeade with me?" Oh-my-God! He's serious._


	6. Detention

_Thanks to AnotherHPF for her special addition to this chapter—she knows what I'm talking about. And thanks for all of the reviews. They made my holidays extra enjoyable._

_Detention:::_

So far Oliver and I have pretty much just acted like nothing has changed between us, which I guess is a good thing. If I can't have him romantically, then at least I can still have him as a friend.

But you know what sucks? After Oliver told me that he wasn't sure we'd be able to be together, my stupid head got itself into the right place and realized that Oliver really is the guy I want to be with. Forget Quidditch, forget his graduation. I'm in love with Oliver Wood and I know it. God, what luck!

That's why when the sign went up a few days later announcing a Hogsmeade trip on the last weekend of term, I was ecstatic. This is the perfect excuse for Oliver to ask me out! We wouldn't even have to go as a date—just friends. Surely he has to see what a great opportunity this is.

I was thinking about all of this in Professor McGonagall's class since Transfiguration doesn't make any logical sense anyway. Sadly, McGonagall's an expert on figuring out whether a student is paying attention or not.

"Miss Bell!" her stern voice rang out through the room. I quickly pushed away the paper that I'd been scribbling on and turned to her. "Perhaps you'd like to demonstrate to the class how to turn your pumpkin juice into water?" Damn. Why is she asking me to do this? She knows I suck at this class—she grades the papers!

"Sure, Professor," I said through clenched teeth. What had Oliver said about this last night? God, why is my tutor so damn distracting?

I tapped the goblet three times and muttered what I thought was the incantation. There was a loud bang and I ducked just in time to avoid being hit with what looked like a jet of boiling water. Some of my classmates weren't so lucky. Professor McGonagall immediately went around correcting the situation and there was no lasting damage, unlike my switching spell incident of '93. But God, I really do suck.

"Detention, Miss Bell. And see me after class." I just nodded.

When the bell finally rang to end the lesson, I slowly gathered my stuff and walked up to the teacher's desk.

"I'm really sorry, Professor," I started, but McGonagall interrupted me.

"I know that you're sorry, Miss Bell; that is not what I called you here for. I am becoming very worried about your grades. The other professors tell me that you're one of the top students in all of your other classes. Have you considered a tutor? Because if your grades don't start improving, I'm going to have to remove you from the Quidditch team."

"But I do have a tutor, Professor," I admittedly sheepishly.

"You _do_ have a tutor, Miss Bell?" she asked shocked. Yeah, that's right. Those T's are earned even with help.

"Yeah, um, Oliver Wood." McGonagall's face transformed into a knowing smirk.

"May I perhaps suggest a less distracting tutor?" I could feel my cheeks heating up. Bloody hell! Does everyone know? "Detention tomorrow after dinner, Miss Bell."

"Yes, Professor," I said quickly and then rushed out of the room before she could give me anymore relationship advice. I walked into the Great Hall and sat down across from Fred, who was sitting alone at the end of the table.

"How are you today, Miss Bell?"

"Bloody horrible," I answered, burying my head in my hands.

"Language," he warned.

"Sod off, Weasley." We ate in silence for a few minutes until I felt I could talk about the situation without sticking my head into the pumpkin juice pitcher.

"McGonagall gave me detention," I explained.

"So you're the one who dosed the class in boiling water?" Fred asked with a smirk.

"No one was hurt!"

"If you say so," he laughed. "So, what do you have planned for Hogsmeade next weekend?"

"Nothing special," I said, glancing over at Oliver who was laughing with Cullen Burke at the end of the table.

"So you two don't have anything planned?" he asked, following my gaze.

"Nope."

"Well, have you asked him?"

"He obviously doesn't want to go with me."

"Maybe he's just shy," Fred joked. "You should ask him."

"Ha ha, not funny. Anyway, he's basically told me that his main focus is Quidditch right now. I'm just not important enough."

"Damn, that dude really needs to sort out his priorities."

OoO

The following night I headed for McGonagall's classroom right after dinner to serve my detention. To my surprise, the first person I saw when I opened the door was not McGonagall, but Cullen Burke.

"Um, hi," I said cautiously.

"Hello, Miss Bell," Professor McGonagall said, appearing out of her supply closet.

"Oh, hello, Professor."

"Mr. Burke has received a detention also, and I think that it would benefit both of you to serve them together.

"Um okay," we said together, both deeply confused.

"Mr. Burke, I would like you to tutor Miss Bell."

"That's all?" he asked rather happily.

"While I normally discourage turning other students into wildlife, it really was an extraordinary bit of magic and Miss Bell needs all of the help she can get." Thanks. "And Flint deserved it," she added as an afterthought.

Cullen hexed Flint? Sweet! He's my new hero.

"Miss Bell, pay attention to him," she warned as she prepared to leave the room. "Because you two are going to keep coming back to this room every night until you can at least perform a simple switching spell without sending the whole class to the hospital wing." She left the room with a warning glare and I sat down next to Cullen.

"You sent your whole class to the hospital wing?" he asked politely.

"No," I defended myself. "There was only two people McGonagall couldn't fix herself." Ok, we're going to be here for weeks.

"Oh, come on. You can't be that bad. Oliver tutors you like twice a week, right?" Ah, joy. I'd forgotten they were so close.

"If I said no, could you excuse my lack of talent?"

"Are you really that bad?"

"Only in Transfiguration!"

"Okay, well do you understand the theory?"

"You mean the theory that the spell is supposed to change one object into something completely different?" I asked in mock surprise. "Oh course I understand the damn theory! I just can't put it into practice!"

"You don't have to yell. Just show me the wand movement."

Two hours later, I'd made more progress than I had all year. I actually managed to turn a teacup from pink to blue! Granted, I was supposed to be turning it into a goblet, but it's a start. I was now sitting directly across from Cullen with a button between us.

"Now, turn it into a needle," Cullen demanded.

"You're sure you want me to turn it into something that sharp?" I asked, only half joking. He just rolled his eyes; I think he's starting to get annoyed with my sarcasm.

"Transfigure the damn button, Bell."

"It's your funeral," I mutter and then focused all of my attention on the 'damn' button. I said the incantation and then promptly dropped my wand at the sight of a shiny needle sitting in front of me. Cullen was leaning his seat back on two legs and laughing at me.

"Oh my God! I've never done that before!" I exclaimed.

"You have absolutely no self-confidence. If you would just believe that you could do it, then…" He was cut off by Professor McGonagall entering the room.

"So?" she asked Cullen.

"She transfigured that," he said, gesturing to that beautiful needle.

"Well, well. Do it again." And then she turned it back into a button. Bitch. Doesn't she know I can't do these things on demand? "Miss Bell?" she inquired when I made no attempt to pick up my dropped wand.

"Do I have to?"

"Not if you want to come back here tomorrow night."

"Ugh!" I groaned and bent down to retrieve my wand. I tapped the button harshly three times, knowing that anger only makes for poor magic, and then muttered the spell. A loud bang and a cloud of smoke filled the room. We all began coughing, but when the smoke cleared I was surprised to find a needle sitting in front of me.

"Holy fuck!" I said happily while Cullen started laughing at me. And then I remembered that Professor McGonagall was in the room. "Oh, sorry Professor."

"Save the language for the Quidditch pitch, Miss Bell. And try to eliminate the special effects before our next class."

"Yes, Professor."

"Okay, you two are free to go." Relieved, I exited the room with Cullen by my side.

"Thank you so much," I said as we headed back towards Gryffindor Tower.

"For what?" he asked.

"For helping me. I've _never_ done a switching spell before. Well, one that worked anyway."

"What have you and Oliver been doing for the past three months?"

"Um, he talks. I just don't listen." He gave me a confused look. You know, Cullen's pretty cute… "I get kind of distracted."

"Oh," he said realization dawning on his face.

"Yeah," I said softly.

"Does he know you like him?" Cullen asked.

"Um, yeah."

"Well, did he do anything about it?" Cullen asked, shocked.

"About what?"

"About you two? He's crazy about you—almost skinned me alive after I kissed you at your birthday party."

"Yeah, we've talked about it. He told me we couldn't be together right now."

"What! Why?"

"One word: Quidditch." It's hard losing the love of your life to a sport.

"Katie, can I tell you something?" he asked after a while.

"Sure."

"That spin-the-bottle game. It wasn't a coincidence it landed on me. I put a spell on the bottle."

"What?" I asked, shocked. Why would someone actually want to kiss me?

"I don't really know why. I'd just seen you around—heard Oliver talk about you. I haven't been able to get you off of my mind since that kiss."

"Uh, Cullen I…."

"No, listen. Even if you don't want to admit it, you have to know that no matter how much he cares about you, Quidditch will always come first." Yeah, I'm starting to get that feeling. "Katie, go to Hogsmeade with me—it's just one day—and I know I can convince you I'm worth it. Even if you go for no other reason than to make him jealous. Please."

I think it was the way he said it—so calm, so sure—that made me want to say yes on the spot.

"I need to think about it. Can I get back to you?" Ok, so that was lame.

"Sure," he said with a smirk and turned towards the kitchens, leaving me alone in the corridor and at a loss for what to do. Going back to the common room is out of the question. That would involve eventually running into either Oliver or Cullen. So what is there to do?

I sat down right where I was.

So what the hell am I supposed to do? Cullen Burke, a seventh year, just asked me out. Can you believe it? I went from feeling completely helpless in the romance department to having two guys to choose from.

Cullen.

Oliver.

God, it's so unfair! As much as I hate to admit it, Cullen's right. Oliver is so impossible to deal with sometimes. With Hogsmeade only a few days away, it's obvious he's not planning on asking me. But on the other hand, he definitely _likes_ me even if he's not making a move to define the relationship. Am I willing to wait for him?

I sat there until way past curfew and even then, I had no clue what to do.

I got up and slowly headed for the common room. It's almost midnight—no one's going to be in there. I walked cautiously to Gyffindor Tower, shutting the portrait hole on my way in. I looked around and was relieved to find that I was alone. Exhausted and distraught, I collapsed into the nearest armchair and gazed into the diminishing fire. I pulled my knees up to my chest and rested my chin on them. It didn't take long before I was drifting into sleep.

"Katie, wake up," a soft voice whispered, shaking my shoulder. I slowly opened my eyes and took in my surroundings. The fire was completely gone by now and I was curled up in the chair.

"Oh my God! What time is it?" I asked, sitting up straight.

"It's like three in the morning," Fred said, sitting down next to me. In jeans and a T-shirt. He obviously hasn't been to bed yet tonight.

"Where've you been?" I asked groggily, resting my head on his shoulder.

"With Brittney Pierce," he answered smugly.

"The Ravenclaw?"

"Yup."

"Any good?"

"Decent. Not as good as you though." Sheer exhaustion kept me from hitting him for that comment. "Go on to your dorm, Katie. We have class in a few hours." Groan. Does he really expect me to move?

"Where have _you_ been?" he asked. I looked down at myself and realized that I too am still in my school robes.

"With McGonagall," I answered without thinking.

"Goodness, Katie. I didn't know you rolled like that." This time I really did hit him. Hard.

"I had detention, you idiot."

"Until three in the morning?"

"No, only until eleven."

"Which brings me back to the question: where have you been?"

"With Cullen." Once again, not thinking.

"Burke?" he asked shocked. I knew what he was thinking and I'm not about to correct him. If he really wants to know, he can say it out loud.

It's fun bugging Fred. And energizing. I'm wide awake now.

"What the hell were you doing with Burke?"

"Let's just say he's way more than just _decent_."

"KATIE!" Fred cried angrily.

"I'm kidding, you idiot. We just talked."

"Yeah right. What happened?"

"Nothing," I lied.

"You may not know this babe, but your nostrils flare when you lie, so what's up?" My hand immediately went to my nose. Weird…How did he know that when I didn't?

"He…well, he kind of asked me to Hogsmeade."

"And?"

"And I said I'd think about it."

"Think about it? Katie, aren't you supposed to be in love with Wood?"

"Well, he's not about to ask me so…"

"So you're just going to settle? Don't do this to yourself," he said with a sigh.

"Hey, that's not fair! If I went with Cullen I wouldn't be settling. He's way above the above average mark."

"But you don't like him!" Fred yelled.

"But Oliver's not going to ask me!" I scream, jumping up. The whole tower is probably lying in bed listening to us right now.

"Well then, what if _I_ asked you?" I stood there stunned for several seconds. No way is Fred seriously asking me out. He's like my brother. Granted, a brother that can kiss very well, but still…

"What?' I said, barely louder than a whisper.

"Will you go to Hogsmeade with me?" Oh-my-God! He's serious.

"What the fuck?" I asked and at a complete loss for what to do, I headed for my dorm.

"Is that a no?" he called after me.

"Yes," I yelled.

"Yes, you'll go?"

"No! No I will not go with you!" I yelled, and then stormed off, straight into the arms of Angelina and Alicia who were standing on the steps. "I'm not in the mood to talk right now," I said a little too harshly and slammed my dormitory door in their faces.

OoO

"Hey, Cullen?" I said early the next morning in the Great Hall. "I'll meet you Saturday at nine, okay?" He just nodded. Good boy.

OoO

_Next time on _Love and Quidditch

_There, only two booths away sit Oliver and Leanne. She's wrapped in his arms and he's kissing her without a care in the world. I watch as his hand travels up her shirt and I quickly turn around, not wanting to see them anymore._

_I turn the conversation back to Quidditch, acting as if nothing's happened, but my heart really isn't into it. In fact, I think my heart just shattered into a million pieces. I just don't understand! If he won't go out with me because of Quidditch, then why the hell is he willing to go out with Leanne? _


	7. Random Guys

_Happy New Year to all my readers. Read and Review._

_Random Guys:::_

How do I always manage to get myself into these messes? Recap: I'm totally and irrevocably in love (yes, I used the L-word) with my Quidditch captain, who cares more about Quaffles than he does about me.

As if that's not enough of a problem, his best friend and I are going to Hogsmeade together today. Awkward much? Oh yeah. But Oliver's and idiot and won't ask me out, even though he likes me. My guess is he's going to beat Cullen's head in for asking me…or mine in for agreeing to go. He _is_ always saying I need to be more aggressive. Sure, he's talking about on the Quidditch pitch, but I think it could apply here too.

Anyway, to top all of this off Fred has decided to add to my difficulties by actually _asking me out_! Is he mental? We have a totally platonic relationship—have I missed something?

I was rudely awakened by Angelina and Alicia early this morning, both of them singing some stupid muggle song that I didn't recognize. I groan as they pulled my bed hangings away. God, I hate sunlight.

"Wake up, babe," Angelina says from my dresser while messing around with my scarce supply of make-up. "You've got a date with one of the hottest guys in Gryffindor. Be happy." Oh, right. They don't know I'm obsessed with Oliver. But Fred does. Great…

I do my best to make myself presentable and once Alicia and Angelina re-do everything, we make our way down to the Great Hall.

"Oh good, there's Oliver," Alicia says and starts heading that way. "I need to ask him about our practice schedule next term." Like I'm going anywhere near him today. I make a quick U-turn and head over to Leanne who is sitting alone at the Ravenclaw table.

"Hey," I say, sitting down across form her.

"Oh, um, hi," she says, looking up from her book but not making eye contact.

"What's wrong?" It's obvious she's hiding something.

"Nothing," she says, much too quickly. Whatever.

"So what are your plans for today?" I ask politely. "I'm going with Cullen Burke." I try to keep the slight disappointment from my voice but I'm sure she caught it. She knows how much I care about Oliver.

"Oh," she says, brightening immediately. "So you finally realized that you and You-Know-Who would never work out?" Oliver, not Voldemort.

"I don't know. I mean, Oliver says he likes me, but I don't think that he has any intention of asking me out."

"Are you sure you didn't misunderstand him when he was saying that he 'likes' you?" she says harshly, putting air quotes around the word 'likes'. What the hell is she saying? I know she has a little tiny miniscule thing for Oliver, but they don't even talk. Do they?

"No, I'm pretty positive I know what I'm talking about," I say rudely.

"Well then, you must be mistaken." Oh no she didn't. Someone hold my earrings.

"Leanne, what are you trying to—?"

"Ready to go?" A voice interrupts me from behind. I turn around to see Oliver standing directly behind me. For a second I actually believe that he's talking to me, but as always Leanne is there to prove me wrong.

"Yeah," she says with a giggle. Someone should really tell her that she can't flirt to save her life. She stands up and exits with him, leaving me alone and broken-hearted at the Ravenclaw table where I am already receiving dirty stares. I get up quickly and turn to leave, running straight into Cullen.

"Hi," I say with a laugh.

"I was just coming to get you," he replys, steadying me on my feet.

"Well, I was just coming to find you. Do you mind if I run up to my room and get a bigger jacket? It's freezing outside and Alicia wouldn't let me grab a warm one." So we make our way back to Gryffindor Tower and I go get the jacket that I had originally put on that Alicia had dubbed "too boyish." I really couldn't argue with her there. It's my Cousin Aaron's jacket. But it is warm.

As we make our way down to the entrance hall, I notice Cullen glaring at my jacket. After about five minutes of this, I just can't stand it anymore.

"What?" I ask.

"Nothing," he says quickly. I was about to argue when Alicia showed up behind me; Fred, Lee, and Angelina in tow. I think George has a date…

"Katie Bell, I told you not to wear that jacket!" she shouts, stunned that I would disobey one of her sacred fashion laws.

"I would have frozen to death if I'd gone outside in that thing you gave me!" I argue.

"It doesn't matter," she explains as if I was a little child. "Your date would have kept you warm, right Cullen?" Poor boy, being put on the spot like that.

"Um, yeah."

"See!" she continues. "And that's not even the point. That's a _boy's _jacket, Katie, which means that you either got it from a guy or you just suffer from some sort of Gender Confusion Disorder. And since normal girls don't wear hand-me-downs from their male cousins, it looks like you're wearing an ex-boyfriend's jacket." Whoops. That does make some sense. "I'm writing Aaron tomorrow and telling him to stop sending you clothing," she says harshly, rolling her eyes one last time before stalking off with the rest following close behind her.

"Sorry," I said once they left. "I don't think about my clothes that much."

"It's not a problem," he says, suddenly much more comfortable around me. "But why do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Wear guys' clothes? I've seen you in boys' jeans before."

"Okay, that was once. I didn't have any clean clothes and Fred let me borrow a pair."

"But is there a reason?"

"Besides the fact that skirts make my skin crawl?" I joke, and then decide to tell him the truth. "I used to feel guilty asking for new clothes because we didn't have a lot of money, so my Aunt would buy me some and send them over. My Aunt is a former model, and needless to say, the clothes were totally not me. So every time my cousin, Aaron, would sneak some of his hand-me-downs in. I eventually yanked up the courage and told my dad I needed new ones, but I still have some of Aaron's old stuff."

"Got any left from your Aunt?" he asked with a smirk.

"Yes, and their hidden, because if Alicia and Angelina ever found out they would chunk the clothes I actually wear." He laughs, but I know that he understands. That fact, more than anything else, is why I decided to interlace my fingers with his as we neared town. As the temperature continued to drop, I was thankful for the contact. God, it's cold.

As soon as we arrive in town, we head straight for the Three Broomsticks. It's way too cold to wander around today. We take a seat in a booth towards the back, beating the crowd of students sure to arrive within minutes.

"So, tell me about your family," I ask after Madam Rosmerta takes our drink orders.

"Well, both my parents work for the ministry—Unspeakables. I have no clue what they do, so don't ask. I have an older sister and an older brother. They pretty much took care of me because my parents travel _all the time_. I, um, actually moved in with Oliver last summer. His family's great; this is better for everyone."

"You mean you and Oliver actually _live_ together?" I ask, stunned. Why didn't I know this?

"Yeah," he says. It's obvious he doesn't want to spend this date talking about Oliver.

"Were your parents mad when you moved out?"

"I'm honestly not sure they even noticed," he said and by the tone of his voice I could tell he wasn't joking. That must suck. "So, anyway…" he said after a while. Neither of us seem to know how to continue this conversation and neither of us wants to.

"I got a 'P' on my Transfiguration exam yesterday," I finally say. "Best I've done all year."

"Good," he says happily and then we both drifted back into silence, looking around the pub absent-mindedly. I think this is the epitome of awkward silences.

Suddenly, I burst out laughing. I couldn't help it. Something about this whole situation is ridiculously hilarious.

"What's so funny?" Cullen asks, laughing at me.

"I don't know," I say, still laughing and he joins in. We must look ridiculous…

Somehow my laugh attack broke the ice and we drifted on to a topic that we both enjoy—Quidditch. Cullen doesn't play, but apparently he's a huge supporter of the Wimbourne Wasps. Don't know why—they suck—but whatever. I then told him about my love of the Holyhead Harpies and he informed me that his sister is on their reserve team—oh my God! He's my new favorite person. I've never actually considered playing Quidditch professionally, but if I change my mind I'm definitely going to look her up.

"So what made you decide to go with me today?" Cullen asked after a while. I knew that question would come eventually.

"Fred," I say truthfully.

"Ok," he says totally confused after I don't elaborate. "Well, remind me to send him a thank you card."

"He asked me out." Again with the cryptic answers; I'm good at that.

"He did what?" Cullen asked, shocked. I knew no one would believe that…

"Yeah, he actually asked me out."

"That would explain why him and Oliver are always at each others throats." Yeah, you know, that does make more sense now.

"I just can't believe he did that! He's like the one person I can tell everything to—well, him and Leanne, but I don't have to worry about him going out with the guy I like." Cullen's face fell instantly. Shit! I'm really good at messing this date up, aren't I?

"Cullen, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have—"

"Katie, don't. I didn't come here expecting you to stop liking him. I just wanted a chance—no strings attached." I just nod. "But I still don't understand why you agreed to go with me."

"Well, the whole thing with Fred really got me to thinking, and I don't want to spend my whole life waiting. Oliver's main goal is getting accepted to Puddlemere and I'm sick of waiting for him to get his head together." Cullen just sat there smirking at me and I regretted having to add this last part. "But I can't be with you. Not right now. It's not fair for either of us; I've got to get over him first. You deserve way better than me—don't argue. I'm just not ready to be with anyone else right now."

"I know, Katie. I understand," he says, staring hard at me. "Friends?" he asks, holding out his hand for me to shake. I gladly take it. With the prospect of friendship hanging in the air, conversation became much easier. It isn't long however until our perfect mood evaporates. His eyes widen, staring behind my head and I quickly turn around to see what he's looking at.

There, only two booths away sit Oliver and Leanne. She's wrapped in his arms and he's kissing her without a care in the world. I watch as his hand travels up her shirt and I quickly turn around, not wanting to see anymore.

I turn the conversation back to Quidditch, acting as if nothing's happened, but my heart really isn't into it. In fact, I think my heart just shattered into a million pieces. I just don't understand! If he won't go out with me because of Quidditch, then why the hell is he willing to go out with Leanne?

OoO

I convinced Cullen to take me back to the castle early and he didn't seem to mind. Even though it was only seven, I showered and got into bed, knowing full well that no matter how hard I try to stop him, Oliver'll be waiting for me in my dreams.

I wake up around one to the harsh breathing of my roommates. Just that small sound is about to drive me crazy. I get out of bed and head down to the common room with my pillow. I just need to be alone for a while.

The couch, however, is already being occupied and at the sight of Oliver lying on top of Leanne—their lips caught in a fierce embrace—I feel my heart break for the second time that night.

God, they're practically shagging. People study on that couch. Wait, is that my Transfiguration notebook?

Even though I know it's wrong, I stand there and just watch them for a few seconds. God, why does that look so fun? I'm about to turn around and try to find alternate sleeping arrangements when I realize there's no where I could go.

My dorms full of bimbos, Alicia and Angelina would laugh at me for liking Oliver, and if I try to leave the common room Oliver will notice for sure. My next best bet would be Fred but seeing as how he apparently wants in my pants, I don't think that's a good idea right now.

So where am I supposed to go? Oh fuck this; I want that comfy armchair by the fire.

"Oi! Get a room, you two," I call. Oliver breaks his contact with Leanne and looks up at me without changing positions.

"Well, we had one until you came along, Bell," he says harshly. I was about to start yelling when Leanne suddenly sat up.

"Bell? Katie?" she says, looking around. "Katie! Oh my god, Oliver. It's Katie. Don't you just love Katie, Oliver?" I roll my eyes and turn to Oliver.

"She's drunk," I accuse.

"I can't control your friend," he retorts.

"She may be _my_ friend, but she's _your_ date! You're supposed to watch her, not buy her firewhiskey!" Leanne's taken to looking at the ceiling. Alcohol doesn't set well with her; she'll probably be throwing up within ten minutes. How could he be so clueless? He's just sitting there staring blankly at me. The sad thing is that he's perfectly sober.

"God, you're such an ass!" I shout and grab Leanne by the arm, pulling her towards the portrait hole.

"Where are you going?" he calls after me.

"None of your business!" I yell, slamming the portrait hole behind me.

Fuming, I take Leanne back to her own common room. We had to stop half way there to allow her to throw up in a potted plant. I dropped her off and headed back to Gryffindor Tower, thinking about how I should have sent her to the hospital wing where she'd have to explain her alcohol consumption to Poppy. But I just couldn't do that. Leanne might be a guy-stealer, but she's still my friend—for now.

Oliver won't still be in the common room will he? Surely, he has the sense to get out of my way…

And alas, no. There he is, moodily staring into the fire.

"Why the hell are you still here?" I whine.

"Because we need to talk," he says calmly, walking over to me.

"Fine. Talk." And it better be good.

"I really like you, Katie." I roll my eyes.

"We've been over this before, Oliver! You like me, I like you. End of story. It's not like your going to do anything about it!"

"I was planning on asking you to Hogsmeade, actually, but you'd already agreed to go with Cullen. Do you know what that feels like?" he yells at me.

"Yeah, actually, I do! It probably feels a little something like you going with Leanne. And when were you planning on asking me—the day before? I waited for you to ask me for a whole damn month," I yell right back. It's going to be a miracle if no one wakes up.

"I only went with Leanne to make you jealous."

"So you used her?" I yell. Right now my anger at him outweighs my anger at her. He looks at me sadly for a few seconds and I can tell I've hurt him. "God, I can't do this right now," I say softly and turn to go back to my dormitory.

"Wait, Katie," he says, turning me around. "We _have _to do this now. Holidays start tomorrow." I could feel tears welling up in my eyes. Why does he have this effect on me?

Noticing my tears, he pulls me close and I let him hold me, even though I know I will only feel worse when he lets go.

"We can't do this—I can't do this," I say, pulling away. "Every thing you say makes me feel great because I think that things are finally going to change and they never do. I can't go through that again."

"Well, what if things really do change this time?" he says with a boyish grin plastered on his face.

"I don't know, Oliver." My heart is screaming at me for making that comment, but my head is telling me that no matter how hard he tries, Quidditch will always be his first love. Am I willing to share him? It got quiet for a few seconds.

"So, why'd you agree to go with Cullen, anyway?' he asks.

"Because Fred asked me out and I was pretty damn confused."

"Are you serious?" he laughed.

"It's not funny!"

"Trust me, it is. That should teach you not to kiss random guys: first Cullen, now Fred. You must be a bloody brilliant kisser."

"Shut up," I say, rolling my eyes.

"Katie?" he asks, drawing me closer to him.

"What?" I reply, barely able to think.

"I want to try this—try us. We deserve a chance."

"But I'm two years younger than you," I joke.

"I don't care," he says nuzzling my neck. It feels so good I lose my train of thought.

"But it's Quidditch season," I say softly, melting into his touch.

He gently nips my ear and a sharp tingle travels down my body. "I don't care," he says and I can tell he means it. His face is only inches from mine and it takes all of my will power to stop him.

"You told me not to kiss random guys," I tease.

"I'm not random." And then he gently pulls me to him and presses his lips against mine. And it is so much better than anything I've ever imagined.

OoO

_Okay, we're now half way there. Well, almost. I guess now would be a good time to tell you how this story is going to play out. There will be 15 chapters and an epilogue; 16 in all. The actual story ends with Katie's fourth year at Hogwarts and the epilogue takes it a bit further._

_On another note, I'm going on vacation tomorrow but I'll be back within a week, so the wait won't be too totally unbearable. I hope._

_Next time on _Love and Quidditch:

"_Come on," Fred said, pulling me towards the door leading to muggle London._

"_Wait, where are we going?"_

"_London," he said as if I should know that already._

"_But Diagon—"_

"_Katie, how many times have we been to Diagon Alley? I'll tell you: tons. We need new places to make adventures."_

"_Have you ever been to muggle London before?"_

"_Nope." Great._


	8. A Day in the Life of a Muggle

_Just a brief author's note here: I'm not British. I'm American and I've never been to England so some of the terms my charcters use might not sound too British. Like, I don't think they say okay as much as I do. Anyway, for all of you Americans out there, when I say football that means soccer. I know everyone pretty much already knows that. American football is just that. American football. And I mention both in this chapter so sorry if there's any confusion. Crisps are American potato chips. Now onto the chapter._

_Disclaimer: Not her._

_A Day in the Life of a Muggle:::_

"Katie! Phone!" My dad's voice yells up the stairs, waking me with a start. "KATIE!" Groaning my displeasure, I walk out of my room and grab the cordless phone from the hallway.

"Hello?" I mumble into the receiver. Who the hell is calling me on my first full day of break?

"Your dad has a sexy voice," I hear Angelina say over the phone line.

"Did you call me just to listen to my dad's voice?" I ask, irritated.

"No. Actually, I called to invite you to Diagon Alley this afternoon. I'm bored." Even over the phone, I knew she was pouting.

"Hold on; I'll ask," I groan and take the phone with me downstairs as I try to locate my father.

"It'll be you, me, Alicia, Fred, George, and Lee. Sound okay?"

"Yeah it sounds fine. Where the hell is my dad? DAD!" I scream.

"Living room," he yells back. We have a very fine-tuned communication system worked out.

"I've got something to tell you," I taunt Angelina as I head for my dad's voice. She loves gossip.

"Katie, you can't just say that and not tell me. What is it?" I ignore her and pull the door open to the living room where I can hear the TV going. My dad's obsessed with American football—watches it constantly.

"Go, go, go, go!" He was yelling at the screen as I walked in. And he wasn't the only one. Our next door neighbor, Mr. Wilson, was sitting there cheering as well. And I'm in my pajamas. Great. Thankfully, they were both enraptured by the television.

"Dad, can I go to London with Angelina this afternoon?"

"Stop him you bleeding idiot!" he yells at the TV, ignoring me completely. "What, dear?"

"Can I go into London with Angelina later today?"

"Yeah. Sure, honey. No, no, no, no, no! What are you doing? Get the damn ball!" That's my cue to leave. I exit the living room and head for the kitchen. If I'm up, I might as well have breakfast—oh look at the time—I might as well have lunch.

"Okay, I can go, Angelina."

"Yeah, I heard. Now, what did you have to tell me?" I open the door to the kitchen and enter, running right in to Mr. Wilson's son. I promptly scream and drop the phone. He drops the bowl of crisps that he had been retrieving causing a great cacophony of falling objects.

"Oh God, I'm sorry," he says after the chaos clears, bending down to pick up his mess.

"No, it's fine," I assure him. I'm still in my pajamas. Great. And guess what? This guy's gorgeous. His name's Tyler and we used to go to school together. I pick the phone up off the floor where I can hear Angelina yelling into the other end.

"I'll see you at three, Ange," I say over her hysterics.

"Okay, but is that guy single because he sounds _hot_?"

"Bye, Angelina." Click.

"I'm so sorry," Tyler says again as I throw the phone onto the nearest counter.

"It's really fine," I assure him, bending down to help him finish picking up the mess.

"So it's true?" he asks as we work. "Katie Bell has decided to grace us with her presence for Christmas. How's that fancy school of yours coming along?" Dad's tells everyone that I attend a fine arts school on a scholarship playing football. I suck at football…

"Uh, yeah. I'm only back for two weeks."

Tyler and I used to be good friends—hell, best friends. Mr. Wilson's from America but Tyler was born in England. Since Mr. Wilson's the only person in the country who'll sit down with my dad and watch teams that they have no affiliation with run all over each other day after day, Tyler and I were sort of forced into a friendship. Quidditch is so much more interesting than any muggle sport. Anyway, he was always like the brother I never had. Until this summer…

I really don't even want to think about that right now.

We finished cleaning and stood facing each other for several seconds. Mr. Wilson then stuck his head into the kitchen. "Come on, Tyler. I've got to get you to Todd's before the tiger's play. Oh, hello, Katie."

"Hello, Mr. Wilson." And then they left without another word. Slightly dazed, I trekked back up to my room and was asleep before anymore thoughts could trouble my mind.

OoO

"Dad, I'm leaving," I call, getting ready to floo to the Leaky Cauldron.

"Curfew's eleven."

"I know. I'll be back by then." I step into the fireplace and throw the floo powder around me. "The Leaky Cauldron," I say confidently, and it's only seconds before the flames engulf me. I hate flooing…

The fireplace spit me out a minute later, flat on my back in the pub that I am now so familiar with. Slightly dazed, I stay where I am. Staring up at the ceiling, a red-headed person blocks my view.

"You need to work on the landing, Katie," Fred says, offering me a hand to help me up. I take it reluctantly. I'm still not too happy about him asking me out.

"Ha ha; very funny," I say in response, trying to get all of the soot off of me. "It's not like I floo all the time. My dad doesn't much approve of travel via fireplace."

Fred's not acting like anything's happened between us. Whatever, I'll just follow his lead—I don't want to start anything.

Tom, the bar keeper, suddenly points his wand at me and the soot disappears. "Thanks," I say politely. He just grunts in response.

"Come on," Fred says, pulling me towards the door leading to muggle London.

"Wait, where are we going?"

"London," he says as if I should know that already.

"But Diagon—"

"Katie, how many times have we been to Diagon Alley? I'll tell you: tons. We need new places to make adventures."

"But where is—"

"George spotted a joke shop down the street and Angelina said he shouldn't go alone, so her and Alicia went with him."

"Good call," I say, stepping into the gloomy winter air. "Have you two ever been to muggle London before?"

"Who two?"

"You and George."

"Nope."

"Well, this'll be interesting." Especially since they aren't exactly the most covert twins on the planet.

When we arrive at the joke shop, Fred rushes off to join George, both of them looking like kids in a candy store. I roll my eyes and wander over to where Angelina and Alicia are flirting with a worker.

"Katie!" Angelina shrills when I get near enough and she runs over to me, dragging Alicia behind her and leaving a very confused muggle in her wake. "Come on," she says, beside herself with excitement, pulling me back outside. Into the cold. Into the _freezing_ cold. "Spill. What do you have to tell us?"

"Is it safe to leave those two in there alone?" I ask, glancing in at Fred and George.

"Yes, yes. Now what's up?" Alicia asks impatiently. And Alicia never gets excited. Ever. That was what tipped me off. I stare at the happy grins on both of their faces and it's obvious that they already know.

"Who told you?" I ask, disappointed. This was _my_ news!

"What?" They both cry. "No one."

"Yeah right. Don't lie. Who told you?"

"Okay," Angelina finally admits. "Oliver told us he fancied you before Hogsmeade and then you were both just so happy yesterday morning. So what happened?" I filled them in on the fight—and the kiss. The glorious kiss.

"Oh my God! So you're together now, right?" Alicia asks, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Well, I don't know," I admit.

"What do you mean, you don't know?" Angelina asks angrily. Apparently that's the type of thing you're supposed to figure out.

"Well, we didn't get a chance to talk but he said he'll call me." And then we were somehow all jumping around and screaming like maniacs. Girls…

"What's going on?" Fred and George ask, walking out of the joke shop, their hands filled with bags and their mouths filled with chocolate. Where they found candy in a joke shop, I have no clue.

"Nothing," we all say, stopping our jumping immediately.

"Where's Lee?" I ask, trying to change the subject.

"Said he couldn't come," Angelina replies. "Don't know why."

"I think he has a date," George says and Fred nods his agreement. I try to ignore Angelina's disappointment.

"Oh, well. Okay. Is anyone hungry?" When everyone voices their approval, Alicia leads us to a small café that I've never been in before.

The waitress escorts us to vacant booth and introduces herself as Jessi before taking our drink orders.

"Butterbeer," Fred says when she finally gets to him. The waitress just stared in confusion as us half-bloods froze with our heads behind our menus.

"He'll take tea," I tell her, raising my head once I'm sure the Ministry of Magic isn't going to swoop down and arrest us. She nods and then departs.

"What?" Fred asks once she's gone. "Did I do something wrong?"

"Butterbeer's a wizard drink, dumb ass," Angelina says.

"Well, how was I supposed to know that?" They continue arguing until Jessi comes back and after she takes our orders, they start again.

Looking for something to shut them up, George shouts above the ruckus, "Hey, Alicia, want to go shag in the bathroom?" That shut them up. And the rest of the restaurant for that matter. Of course, George doesn't seem to notice and surprisingly, neither does Alicia.

"Eh—maybe later." Scattered groups chuckle nervously, but Fred and Angelina thankfully remain silent.

"You two argue too much," I comment.

"And you don't?" Fred asks.

"I don't!"

"Maybe not with us, but I heard you yelling at Oliver night before last," Fred says smugly, obviously thinking he's proved a point.

"Yeah, well they weren't arguing for long," Angelina retorts, making kissing noises.

"Angelina!" I yell. She had _no _right to tell Fred that!

"You kissed that bastard?" Fred cried and then we were all yelling again. Ah, it's good to be with friends. If we were at school, McGonagall would have told us to shut up by now.

The door to the restaurant opens and a group walks in that is almost as loud as us. I look up out of curiosity and my jaw immediately drops. Into this quaint little café steps Tyler, the last person I want to see right now, followed by our old group of friends. Why couldn't Mr. Wilson have kept him home today?

"Damn," I mutter and duck down out of sight.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Fred asks, ducking down also, so that he's at my height.

"Those people who just walked in. I know them."

"So I'm guessing we shouldn't say hello?" Angelina asks from the other side of the table. "It's a shame. Those guys are hot!"

"Why do you always do that?" Fred surfaces to yell at Angelina.

"Bloody hell," George mutters.

"Do what?" Angelina cries angrily. Here we go again…

"Say other guys are cute when I'm around!"

"What does it matter? You want me to tell you you're hot, too?"

"His ego's already big enough," George comments.

"Sod off," Fred snaps across the table at his brother.

"All of you shut up!" Alicia cries and then ducks under the table to where I am now residing. "They're heading this way—" She lifts her head back to the surface. "And they're at the table next to us."

I look over and sure enough: shoes.

"Shit," I swear and slowly lift my head back to the surface, turning it away from sight and staring directly at Fred, who is next to me.

"So, _Katie_, how are you doing?" he asks way too loudly, emphasizing my name.

"Shut the fuck up," I hiss. Angelina, Alicia, and George are all just staring at me as Fred laughs silently.

"Ham and cheese?" Jessi asks, arriving with our food.

"Oh, _Katie_, had that," Fred says pointing to me. Damn him to hell. When Jessi leaves, no longer blocking me from view, I slowly turn to the side and see four people staring at me.

Should I say something?

"Long time, no see," Tyler finally jokes and I noticed that his hand's resting on Amanda's knee. She's another olf friend. And one who wouldn't be too happy with me if she knew the truth about Tyler. Are they _still_ going out? It's been three years.

"Hey," Angelina says in realization. "You're sexy-voice guy from the phone this morning." Could this get any more embarrassing? George and Alicia are just watching the show and Fred's smirking next to me.

"Um," I say, figuring introductions are in order. "These are some of my old friend's—um, friend's from primary schools, um—Tyler, Amanda, Lexi, and Todd." Since Leanne was home schooled, these people were my best friends until I left for Hogwarts. And time has changed us all.

Tyler's always been good-looking, but never so much that it's been noticeable to the casual bystander. Now, he's the type of guy who commands your attention and your respect. He's got dark brown hair and eyes. He's the kind of guy that every girl wants, but never believes that she can have. I happen to think that he enjoys having all of the power.

Amanda is your basic blue-eyed, blonde, bombshell and I could tell that Fred and George were definitely interested. Of course, they're interested in all humans of the female persuasion within a certain range of breast size. You wonder if they'd date a muggle…

Lexi is just as stunningly gorgeous (yeah, guess who the odd one out is) with red hair as bright as the Weasley's.

Todd, however, seems to have changed his image a bit since the last time I saw him. He's dressed completely in black with hair dyed bright blue and a nose ring. And he used to be such a geek…

"And these are my friends from school: Alicia, Angelina, George, and Fred." When I say Fred's name, he puts his arm around my shoulders and I restrain from hitting him only because I know why he's doing it. He recognized the name Tyler, even though I'd only mentioned him briefly a few months before. He knew that Tyler was the guy who had decided to use me over the summer to cheat on his girlfriend.

"Well, it's nice meeting you," Tyler comments and everyone else mutters their agreement.

"Yeah, nice seeing you again." I then turn to my food, but I know I won't be able to keep any of it down. Fred, God love him, noticed.

"Katie and I are going to go look around for Christmas presents," he says, just loud enough for the next table to hear.

Seeming to pick up on his twin's cue, George added, "Yeah right. The house's empty until nine." What a lie; when is the Weasley house ever empty? I'll never understand how those two always know what the other's thinking. It's magic, I tell you.

Anyway, the next thing I know me and Fred are headed back to the Leaky Cauldron. And when we arrive, the day has yet another surprise in store for me. Sitting at a table in the back is the one and only Oliver Wood. Fred's eyes follow my gaze.

"I'm going to go on home, babe," he says. And he isn't mad.

"Thanks, Fred."

"No problem." I watch as he floos to his house and then I make my way over to where Oliver is sitting.

"Hey," I say quietly, coming up behind him. He turns around and a big grin plasters itself onto his face.

"Hey. What are you doing here?" he asks, pleasantly surprised.

"Afternoon out," I answer. "You?"

"I just got back from an interview with a scout from Puddlemere and I needed a drink," he winces.

"That bad?" I ask.

"I honestly have no clue," he laughs and reaches across the table to take my hand in his. I stare at our interlaced fingers for a second. Now that's a nice sight.

"Hey, Oliver?"

"Yeah?"

"Are we going out now?"

"I don't know," he says after a few seconds.

"Well, I kind of think we need to figure that out…"

"Well…I want to go out with you."

"Same here."

"Okay, so…Katie Bell, will you go out with me?"

"Well, you see…" I joke.

"Katie!"

"Yes, Oliver Wood, I will."

"Well then, cheers," he says, holding up his glass of firewhiskey.

"Cheers," I agree. "But I don't have a drink."

"Right," he laughs, offering me a sip of his. I gladly take one. "So what are your plans for break?"

"Nothing special; just me and my dad." I try not to sound too bitter about that.

"How would you like to be my date for a party on New Year's Eve, then?"

"Whose party?" And why was I not invited?

"My parents'. It's just a bunch of their friends from the Ministry. Me and Cullen normally just grab a bottle of wine and get drunk up in my room."

"Fun," I comment.

"Yeah, not really," he says and I laugh. "But you can come anyway."

"Well then, I'd love to."

"Great, I'll pick you up around seven on New Year's Eve. Oh, and Katie? You're going to need a ball gown."

OoO

_There you go. Another chapter. It's a little different, but I wanted to show Katie's other life—her muggle life. Hope you liked it._

_Next time on _Love and Quidditch_ (This isn't a very good blurb, but here it is none the less):_

"Dad, go have fun with the Wilson's. Oliver's bringing me home," I say, grabbing some sort of shawl thing that Leanne said would keep me warm. "I'll be home a little after midnight."

"Curfew's eleven."

"It's a New Year's Eve party, Dad!"

"Twelve thirty; no later." I start for the car but my dad stops me. "I wish to meet this boy, Katie." Damn.

_Please review guys. And feel free to tell me which characters you want to see more of. I've noticed that I've been leaving Lee out a lot lately—that was a subconscious decision, I swear. And which guy's your favorite? Not necessarily for Katie, but which guy do you like the best? Just wondering. And if this chapter's a bit hazy, ask questions. Editing time was limited on this one. Until next time…_


	9. Happy New Year

_Happy New Year:::_

I don't know if I've mentioned this before but I absolutely _hate_ shopping. It somehow manages to combine my fears for salespeople, large bows, and shrilly girls all together in one event that _never_ ends. Pure torture, I'm telling you.

And you know what's worse than shopping alone? Shopping with Leanne. Apparently, she attends the Wood's party every year and has agreed to help me pick out a dress—one that I will never wear again. The things we do for love…

Oh, and guess who Leanne's going with? Cullen! We totally swapped guys. Strange.

"Katie, come on," Leanne groans as we search through the third store today. "This dress is gorgeous!"

"It's got a bow on the back." I argue.

"Ugh! You're impossible!"

"No I'm not; I'm just not going to wear anything that looks too girly."

"Honey, we're looking for dresses. They _all_ look girly!"

"Ugh!" I groan. It's been four hours since we started. I'm never going to get to go home am I?

"Ugh!" she groans right back. Needless to say, we're not making too much progress.

"Ok, let's just calm down," Leanne says for about the tenth time. "What color would you be comfortable wearing?"

"Not pink."

"Okay then, what about red? Red would look good on you."

"No way! The Wigtown Wanderers are red. I'm a harpies fan—I can't wear red."

"What does clothing have to do with Quidditch?"

"What about dark green—the Harpies are dark green?" I ask happily, thinking I've finally found a workable possibility.

"_I'm _wearing dark green!" Leanne moans.

"Black?" I suggest. Black's a nice, safe color.

"Black would wash you out. You want Oliver to actually notice you, right?"

"Well, yeah…"

"Then think about him rather than yourself for a second. Now, what color?" Even though it's hard to picture myself in a dress at all, I try.

"Light blue?" I suggest timidly.

"No conflicting Quidditch teams?"

"Well, the Tutshill Tornados. But I don't really care about them, so…"

"That might actually work, then," she muses and then runs to the rack, coming back with a stunning dress. Too stunning for me. I open my mouth to object, but Leanne covers it with her hand.

"No. Go try it on, then pass judgment." She jams me into a dressing room and it isn't long before curiosity gets the best of me. I slip the dress on and then stand back to see myself in the mirror.

The dress is beautiful—no doubt about it. It's a light blue, strapless, floor length gown. The top is fitted tightly and cinched in at the waist, while the bottom flares out all the way to the floor. It honestly makes me feel like a princess. For once in my life I actually feel beautiful.

I step out of the dressing room and Leanne's jaw drops.

"Oh my god, Katie! You look gorgeous. You have boobs!" Yes, it has been confirmed.

"I want this dress," I admit.

"It's about time." Yeah, rub in the fact that you found the perfect dress two stores ago.

So, all in all, I walked out of the store one dress up and 12 galleons down. And apparently that's a bargain.

OoO

When the doorbell rings on New Year's Eve, I rush to the door hoping to get there before my dad. The smallest amount of time my dad spends alone with Oliver, the better. I wrench the door open and there in front of me stands—Tyler?!

"What the hell are you doing here?" I ask, surprised.

"You look nice tonight, Katie," he greets smoothly. I was about to respond with a very rude explicative when I feel my dad's hand on my shoulder.

"Tyler, m'boy," he greets.

"Hello, Mr. Bell."

"To what do we owe this pleasure?" my dad asks, all smiles.

"My mum sent me. She wants to know if you two want to come over for New Year's Eve dinner. Continue an old tradition, you know."

"We haven't done that in ages," my dad says happily. Yeah, not since I left for Hogwarts. "What about it, Katie."

"I have plans, Dad," I whisper harshly. Was the ball gown not enough of a tip off? He knows I have plans; he just doesn't approve. For some sick reason, he's always entertained the thought of Tyler and me together. And let me tell you right now that that would not work.

As if on cue, a car turns into the driveway. We must look like idiots gathered on the front porch.

"Dad, go have fun with the Wilsons. Oliver's bringing me home," I say, grabbing some sort of shawl thing that Leanne said would keep me warm. "I'll be home a little after midnight."

"Curfew's eleven."

"It's a New Year's Eve party, Dad!"

"Twelve thirty; no later." I start for the car but my dad stops me. "I wish to meet this boy, Katie." Damn. And Tyler's just standing there smugly. I watch as Oliver steps out of the car and comes over, hopping from foot to foot in the cold—it smells like snow.

"Hello, Mr. Bell," he greets, holding out his hand for my dad to shake. My dad shakes his hand stiffly and says nothing. Oliver looks at me, silently asking for help.

"So, we're going to go," I try.

"Wait, what's your name, son?"

"Oliver Wood," he replies confidently. Ha ha—he knew the answer to that one. If my dad starts asking Oliver about his intentions with Tyler here, I'm going to cry. Plus, the answer would have something to do with Quidditch rather than me, so we'd all be arrested for the Restriction of Something or Another since I doubt you're allowed to talk about bludgers in front of a muggle.

"And how old are you?" my dad asks with narrowed eyes.

"Seventeen."

"Are you aware that my daughter is only fifteen?"

"Dad, we _have_ to go."

"Yes, I am aware of that, sir." They just stand there staring at each other for a while, neither making a move to speak.

"Ok, Dad, we're going," I interrupt. "Have fun at the Wilson's." I grab Oliver and pull him towards his car.

"I'll have her home shortly after midnight, Mr. Bell," Oliver calls, opening my car door for me. My father just gives him a curt nod.

"I'm sorry," I say as soon as we pull out of the driveway.

"Don't worry about it," Oliver says, turning to me with a smile. "You look beautiful, Katie."

"Thank you," I say shyly. "I didn't know you could drive."

"My parents say it's useless but Cullen taught me so I went ahead and got my license." It was quiet for a few seconds and I knew what was coming next. "So, who was that guy with your dad?"

"His name's Tyler. We're old friends." I answer with only a slight hesitation.

"Old friends or old _friends_?" he asks, glancing over at me. I don't respond. I don't really care if he knows; I just don't want to say it.

"We went out over the summer—nothing major, just a fling. But he was using me to cheat on his girlfriend so I broke up with him pretty fast. She still has no idea."

"Guys _can_ be asses sometimes." I just rolled my eyes.

It didn't take us long before we arrived at his house. He pulled into the driveway and parked before walking around to let me out.

"Okay, just a few warnings," he starts, leading me towards the back door. "My mum is probably going to fawn over you for about ten minutes."

"Never brought a date home before?" I taunt.

"Actually, no. My Uncle Gary tends to get a little touchy-feely after about three drinks. I'll keep you away form him. We normally only have to suffer through the first hour downstairs. After that, everyone's too drunk to notice us missing."

He opened the back door and we stepped into the kitchen. A woman was already in there, looking frazzled in her ball gown and giving instructions to the servers. She looked up when we entered and her face immediately softened.

"You must be Katie!" she says, walking over to greet me.

"Mum, this is Katie Bell. Katie, this is my mother, Elizabeth Wood," Oliver introduces.

"Katie Bell," she says, scanning me all over with a wild glint in her eyes. "Ah, look at how much you've grown!" Where the hell does she know me from? "You look just like your mother."

My heart drops into my stomach. My mother? I faintly register Oliver glancing over at me. Did he know about this?

"You knew my mother?" I finally manage to choke out.

"Oh yes, very well," she says, ignoring my obvious discomfort. "We roomed together at Hogwarts—Ravenclaws. Caroline was my best friend. Such a tragedy. Muggle diseases shouldn't be able to kill us wizards."

I can't breathe. I can't think. My mother? No one's mentioned her in years—except me. But it's not a surprise if you're the one talking about it.

"Come on, Katie," Oliver says, taking my hand. "I want to show you off."

"It was nice meeting you, Katie."

"You too, Mrs. Wood."

Oliver takes me by the arm and leads me to the main room where happy couples are already twirling around on the dance floor.

"Katie, I'm sorry. My mum gets a little too friendly sometimes. I didn't know she knew your mum—I didn't," he apologizes.

"Katie!" Leanne calls to me before I can answer and engulfs me in a hug. "I told you you'd look gorgeous in that dress!"

"Yeah, you were right," I say, faking a smile.

Cullen walks over and places his hand on Leanne's back. "I think we're ahead of schedule," he announces happily. "Oliver, your dad's already broken into a dirty rendition of _Jingle Bells_ and Uncle Gary's on his fourth firewhiskey. I'd say we have about thirty more minutes—max." And without further ado, Cullen swept Leanne off and onto the dance floor.

"Listen Katie, if you don't feel well, then we can go on upstairs." Oliver says once they're gone.

"I'm fine—really." I add when I see his look of disbelief. "Oliver, I swear. It just surprised me is all. I want to have fun. Let's dance."

"Really?" Oliver asks, a whole new expression of disbelief presenting itself on his face. "Last time I checked, you don't dance."

"It's the dress," I say simply, pulling him onto the dance floor. And I have to admit that Oliver's a good dancer. I really didn't expect it just from that one dance at my birthday party, but he makes me look like a dunce. Which I'm not denying that I am…

Finally, a slow song comes on and we're able to slow our pace a bit. He wraps his arms around me and I rest my head on his shoulder.

"Katie, are you sure you're okay?" he whispers into my ear.

"I'm fine," I insist.

"Okay," he says, gently kissing the top of my head. I glance across the room and see Cullen gesturing wildly over by the drinks.

"Oliver, Cullen's trying to get your attention," I say and Oliver turns to stare at him. When Cullen is sure Oliver has noticed him, he takes off upstairs with Leanne by his side.

"You want to join them?" Oliver asks. It's obvious he wants to get out of here; he's just being polite and asking me first.

"Sure," I say.

"Cullen has a bottle of firewhiskey up there," he says happily, leading me upstairs. "He also has a whole bunch of muggle crap. A television—stuff like that."

"Sounds good to me."

We join Cullen and Leanne in Cullen's room and I have to admit that it was much more fun than the party. We talked (and drank) as some old Beatles music played in the background. It was just four friends having a good time.

My mind, however, kept jumping back to the mention of my mother earlier. I don't know why it bothers me so much. It's just weird to hear about my mum's other life—the magical one. Dad never talks about what she did for a living or anything like that…

About two hours in, Cullen and Leanne start seriously making out on Cullen's bed, so Oliver and I head for his room. I bring the firewhiskey with me.

"You really don't need anymore," he says, taking the bottle from me.

"I'm not drunk," I argue.

"I know. And I want to keep it that way." I just roll my eyes even though I silently agree.

I then focus all of my attention on his room—Oliver Wood's bedroom. I never thought that I would be here. The walls are covered with pictures of Quidditch teams (big surprise, right), but there are so many different teams that I can't really tell who he supports. I notice that on his desk he keeps a picture of our Gryffindor house team. And there Oliver and I are, our arms wrapped around each other, waving animatedly.

"Why so many?" I ask, walking around and looking at all of the different teams.

"Just keeping my options open."

I stop my pacing in front of a poster for Puddlemere United—definitely the most represented poster in the room. "This is where you want to go," I state and he nods slowly.

"They're not great," he says, coming over to join me. "But they have potential and their keeper's bloody horrible." I laugh. "I mean, I couldn't play straight out of school or anything, but I could get on their reserve team and work my way up." It's nice seeing him this happy. Unable to resist, I reach down and grab his hand. He interlaces his fingers with mine.

Looking closer at the poster, I noticed that the only girl on their team, the Seeker, is actually quite gorgeous. Is she one of the reasons Oliver has chosen Puddlemere?

Maybe it was the alcohol or perhaps my unfounded jealousy of Oliver's poster, but before I could even comprehend what we were doing, Oliver and I were lying on his bed—him on top of me—and kissing as if our lives depended on it. As his lips moved from mine to my neck, I opened my eyes briefly and caught sight of the clock on Oliver's wall.

"Oliver, it's twelve thirty," I say, pushing him gently off of me.

"Damn it!" he exclaims. Laughing, we make our way through all of the drunken people present, and out into his car. "You're dad's going to kill me," he says as he backs up.

"He's probably not even home," I laugh. "It's New Year's Eve. Surely there's an American football game on."

We pull into my driveway a few minutes later and my dad, thankfully, isn't at home. He and Mr. Wilson have probably crashed watching taped Super Bowls or something.

"Thanks for tonight, Oliver."

"No; thank you," he says and gives me a soft kiss on the lips before I get out of the car and into my own home. Without showering, I change my clothes and get into bed. It's been one hell of a night. I look out my window and watch as snowflakes begin to fall on a new year.

OoO

_Next time on _Love and Quidditch_: (they're back at Hogwarts)_

"What does you going out with Oliver mean for the two of us?" Fred asked, slowly. Surprisingly, I understood that. Fred's like my best friend. I spend so much time with him and I'm so comfortable with him that I've never really thought about what our actions look like to an outsider. We're always flirting—always.

"I don't know," I say, confused. "Fred, can I ask you a question?" He nods. "Why did you ask me out before Christmas?"

_Ooh, what will he say? Review to find out sooner. _


	10. Firebolt

_Thanks to Iniga for pointing out that I changed Cullen's parentage in the last chapter. I'd originally said that his parents were Unspeakables and I was thinking he was pureblood. Last chapter I made him muggle-born because I was trying to show that Oliver's family doesn't care about blood status. So, I'm going to meet in the middle. Cullen's a half-blood and both of his parents are Unspeakables. Thanks again Iniga and i did correct the mistake in the last chapter._

_Firebolt:::_

The remaining few days of holiday went by extremely fast, which really isn't fair considering I hadn't even started on my Transfiguration homework. Why must the one subject I suck at be the one that my Head of House teaches? And I swear McGonagall can read my mind…

The day before the start of term, I gather my belongings and floo straight into McGonagall's office.

"Nice holiday, Ms. Bell?" she asks without even looking up from some papers she's reading. Like I said: mind-reader.

"Yes. It was very enjoyable, Professor." Except for my father's depression kicking in shortly after New Year. What can you expect?

"You can leave your trunk over there," she says, pointing to a stack of trunks just inside her door. Yeah, I could have figured that one out on my own, thanks.

"Thank you, Professor."

I walk out into the hallway and there in front of me is Oliver, pacing.

"Oliver?" I question.

"There you are!" he cries once he catches sight of me and then, without further greeting, "Harry has a Firebolt!"

"No way!" I cry, happily. Forget the greeting, our Seeker has a Firebolt!

"Yeah, except McGonagall confiscated it. So now I'm trying to yank up the courage to go tell her she's out of her mind."

"Why'd she take it?" Is she crazy? It's a fucking Firebolt!

"She thinks it's trying to kill Harry."

"What? It's a broom…"

"She thinks that that murderer Sirius Black sent it to him and she's checking it for jinxes or something."

"That bitch," I say sarcastically.

"Can you please be serious?"

"Oliver, I am being serious," I say seriously. "Don't you think it's important to make sure that the broom is safe? Do you want Harry dead?"

"But if he catches the snitch first—"

"Oliver!"

"Sorry. I'm not really thinking straight," he says, slowing his pacing.

"Let's start over. How were your holidays?" I ask.

"Good. Long," he says, pulling me closer as he begins to calm down, and kissing the top of my head.

"Wait a few days," I instruct. "If Harry doesn't have the Firebolt back by then, you can talk to her."

"Thank you," he says, taking my hand. "Now, about the Slytherin-Ravenclaw game…" I just roll my eyes and continue walking.

OoO

I'm sitting on the couch in the common room, trying to finish some—you guessed it—Transfiguration homework when Fred comes over. Without a greeting, he hops onto the couch and throws his legs over my lap, which is covered in school work.

"So, how were your holidays, Katie?" he asks happily.

"Great," I say, shoving his feet off of me. "Oliver asked me out."

"Oh," Fred says, stopping half-way in the middle of putting his feet back in my lap. I just smirk. He sits up straight and shifts around awkwardly. Not sure how to act now that you can't flirt with me every second, are you?

"You okay? Need me to call someone?" I ask playfully.

"So what does that mean?" he asks softly.

"It means I'm going out with Oliver…."

"No, I know that. I mean what does it mean for us?" Surprisingly, I understand that. Fred's like my best friend. I spend so much time with him and I'm so comfortable with him that I've never really thought about what our actions look like to an outsider. We're always flirting—always. We don't really mean anything by it; it's just something to do when we're bored.

"I don't know," I say, confused.

"Am I going to have to stop hanging around you?" Fred asks worriedly.

"I don't think so…."

"Well, can we figure it out because if I can't be around you anymore, then I'm going to have to prepare myself for George. I mean, he's great and everything, but he's just not as good-looking as you. Wait." I burst out laughing and even Fred has to laugh at his mistake. Ha ha—they're identical. I'm cuter than Fred; I'm cuter than Fred…

"He and Alicia just need to get together already," I say, once my laughter subsides.

"Yeah, I've been telling him that for ages—wait! How did you know he likes her?"

"I'm a girl. I know everything." He rolls his eyes.

Fred and I have both never had a real relationship while we've been close friends. He just sleeps with them and he's never met mine. So what does that mean for us? I love Angelina and Alicia, but if I have to talk about the different shades of lip gloss 24-7, I'm going to lose it. Fred's my life line. I guess I could replace him with Oliver, but then it's Quidditch 24-7. Don't get me wrong; I love Oliver. He just has a one-track mind this time of year.

"Can I ask you a question?" He nods. "Why did you ask me out before Christmas?" We sit in silence for a minute.

"Because I realized something, Katie, and it scared me. I love you. I do—but not like that. I'm not _in_ love with you." I give him a small smile because I understand completely. "I was just confusing my emotions. You're like the little sister I never had."

"You have a little sister," I inform him.

"That's not the point. The point is that I don't care for you romantically at all. No offense. Well, wait. As long as you never kiss me again, I'll never care for you romantically at all." I laugh. "Plus, I'm pretty sure I fancy someone else."

"Oh, who?" Never tell a girl that you have a crush on someone. It doesn't matter that she's obsessed with Quidditch and enjoys wearing guy's clothing. We're all born with the gossip gene. Something he said just now registered. "Wait—you mean like an actual crush? Like one that could lead to an actual relationship?" I ask, shocked.

"Calm down. It's not going to happen. She likes someone else." We sit in silence for a few minutes.

"Nothing's going to change between us, Fred. Just keep the public displays of affection to a minimum and I doubt Oliver will even notice."

"Deal."

OoO

To improve "team awareness" Oliver has demanded that we all go to the Slytherin-Ravenclaw game. Together. So that's how all seven of us end up sitting in an empty box towards the top of the pitch, listening to Oliver go on and on about Ravenclaw's strategy.

"We play them next…watch the form here—Fred, are you watching?"

"I never knew Quidditch could be so yawn-inducing," Alicia mutters to me. This match is so bloody boring it's not even funny. It's like an extended History of Magic class. George has somehow managed to fall asleep in Alicia's lap without Oliver noticing and Alicia's absent-mindedly stroking his hair. Angelina's examining her hair for split ends, while Fred, Oliver, and Harry are all actually paying attention—it's funny how they care. I, on the other hand, am just listening to Lee's voice. It's soothing, not having to think about anything for once.

Sure, I want to win the Cup; but I don't see how us being here is going to affect the outcome of the match. If Ravenclaw wins, then we get bumped into last place; but if Slytherin wins and then we beat Ravenclaw, we're in second. Or so Oliver says. I guess that means we're rooting for Slytherin. Weird.

"Now Harry, watch this dive…"

We sat through ten long hours of Quidditch, just to watch Slytherin slip ahead by ten points. It was the most boring game in the history of the universe! But now if we beat Ravenclaw, we're in second. How brilliant is that?

OoO

Later, Oliver and I somehow manage to get the common room to ourselves. And of all the things that we could be doing, he is once again helping me with Transfiguration.

"I give up!" I exclaim after two hours of hard work and throw myself onto the couch. Oliver comes and sits next to me, wrapping me in his arms. I could fall asleep like this…

"That was a pretty good match today," he says.

"Oliver, come on," I argue, laughing.

"What? There may have been some instances when not much was happening, but—"

"Oliver!"

"Okay, it was bloody horrible."

"Thank you," I say, kissing the tip of his nose.

"I really thought that it'd be better than that," he says.

"Well, Alicia enjoyed it."

"Yeah. Who knew George could sleep for ten hours straight." I just laugh even though I know he was feigning sleep most of the time.

"I'm going to have to add more practices," he continues. Ugh…

"Oliver, shut up," I say and press my lips against his.

He kisses me gently and I can tell that he's trying to stop himself from doing what he really wants. I think that in some ways he still sees me as the innocent second year who joined the team two years ago. Obviously, he's worried about moving too fast, and let me just tell you that in my opinion he can't move fast enough. He's leaving after this year, for God's sake. Time's the one thing that we do not have. Frustrated with the slowness of everything, I use my teeth to gently bite his lip and hear him moan in response as he intensifies the kiss. Now that's more like it…

I've never kissed a guy who kisses better than Oliver. Even though he tries to hold back, it's impossible for him to keep his feelings hidden. When I kiss him, it's almost as if he's allowed me to see into his soul for a few blissful minutes.

"Katie, stop," he says, gently pushing me away a few minutes later, after things start getting real fun. "It's too soon."

"Yeah, I know," I admit. "I just wanted you to think about something other than Quidditch for once."

"Well don't worry. It worked."

"Good night, Oliver." I say, sullenly heading for my room.

"Good night, Katie."

OoO

Five team practices a week! Five! Oliver's got to be kidding. When am I supposed to be able to do my Transfiguration homework? Ugh! This sucks. Sure, I love Quidditch. But five practices a week. Damn! If we don't win this match, then I just might have to kill myself.

"Hey, Katie! Angelina! Alicia!" Oliver cries, chasing after all three of his Chasers as we make our way down to breakfast. "Guess what?" he asks when he gets right on us.

"We don't have practice tonight?" Alicia guesses.

"Lee broke up with his bitch of a girlfriend?" Angelina asks bitterly.

"McGonagall's canceling the exam on Friday?" I wish.

"No—better! Harry got his Firebolt back!" We just stand there for a few seconds, Oliver looking overjoyed.

"We already know, Oliver," Angelina says after a while.

"Yeah, he walked into the common room carrying it last night; you were sitting right next to me," I say.

"I was?"

"And then we had a whole conversation about it. Apparently you weren't paying too much attention." I figured that he wasn't at the time, but I am surprised he didn't pick out the word 'Firebolt.'

"I'm sorry. I was trying to work out some new plays.

"New plays?" Alicia asks worriedly. "Oliver, we can't learn any new plays! We only have one practice left before the match!"

"But it never hurts to be prepared." We just roll our eyes and continue on our way.

OoO

Later that night as I arrive in the common room, I see Oliver sitting in a corner bent over his play book. Even though I know he probably wants his privacy, I go over and sit down next to him. Without either of us saying a word, he puts his arm around me and pulls me closer so that I'm able to curl up next to him and rest my head on his chest. Before I know it, I am fast asleep.

OoO

_I know it's short but I really wanted to end it right there. I'll update soon to make up for it—promise!_

_Next time on _Love and Quidditch

I dance with Angelina and Alicia for a while, but I'm not really enjoying it. Where the hell is Oliver?

At about midnight he appears out of nowhere and pulls me out of the common room into an abandoned classroom, his only explanation being, "We need to talk."

Those are the four worst words in the English language, let me tell you. When has anything good come out of "We need to talk"?

The sad part is that I know what's coming and I blame myself… 


	11. I Told You So

_Thanks to mischief manage for the quote about wood flooring. And thanks to all of my reviewers. 100 reviews as I am typing this!_

_I Told You So:::_

The months flew by and before I knew it February was here and Quidditch was fully occupying all of our minds. When we walked down to the pitch for our last practice before the match against Ravenclaw, the first thing we saw was Madam Hooch adoring Harry's Firebolt. As we gathered around, she went on and on about its balance and aerodynamics, until I seriously thought Oliver was going to hit her—this is his precious practice time!

"Er—Madam Hooch? Is it okay if Harry has the Firebolt back? We need to practice…." He finally choked out.

"Oh—right—here you are, then, Potter," she answers, slightly downtrodden.

When we finally get into the air, I watch the Firebolt with admiration. Damn, that broomstick's hot. I'd date it.

Practice was awesome. Maybe we were showing off for the Firebolt--I don't know--but it was the best practice I've ever been a part of. When we finally hit the ground, Oliver was speechless.

"Wow, that's a first," George mutters and Alicia hits him.

"I can't see what's going to stop us tomorrow," Oliver says. "Not unless—Harry, you've sorted out your dementor problem, haven't you?"

"Yeah."

"The Dementors won't turn up again, Oliver. Dumbledore'd go ballistic," Fred says confidently.

"Well, let's hope not," Oliver says. "Anyway—good work, everyone. Let's get back to the tower…turn in early—"

We all head back except for Harry who is staying to let the twins' little brother, Ron, have a go on the Firebolt.

When we arrive in the common room, we occupy ourselves by talking about Quidditch for a while, but Oliver isn't saying a word. I put my hand on his knee to calm him down, but it doesn't seem to help. Fred, George, Angelina, and Alicia head up to bed a few minutes later, but I stay with Oliver. Someone has to stop him from having a panic attack.

"You okay?" I ask when he doesn't acknowledge my presence.

"Just nervous."

"You're going to be bloody brilliant, like always. Don't worry."

"A scout's coming," he finally admits.

"Just stay calm. You're the best keeper Gryffindor's ever had."

"Thanks."

"You'll do fine, Oliver," I assure him.

"You should get in bed," he says, not looking at me.

"Yeah. Sure. See you tomorrow." He just nods in response. I climb the stairs to the girls' dorms, but don't stop at my own. Witha fierce determination in my eyes, I keep going until I reach the fifth years' dorm room and enter to find Angelina and Alicia, the sole occupants, changing into their pajamas.

"Hey Katie," Angelina greets. Alicia, ever the observant one, caught onto my mood at once.

"What's wrong?"

"Do you have an hour or so?" I ask sarcastically.

"Yes, they both answer and settle down on Angelina's bed where I join them. They wait expectantly, but I can't bring myself to speak.

"It's about Oliver, isn't it?" Angelina finally asks.

"Yeah," I admit. "It's just that I'm started to feel like he's ignoring me. Tonight he looked at Harry's broomstick with more passion than he's ever looked at me."

"That sounds dirty," Angelina comments.

"I'm being serious!" I cry. "Sure, he's nice to me and everything. And when he remembers that we're going out, he acts so sweet—like a real boyfriend. But he's been leaving me behind lately—like he's forgotten we're together."

"He's just stressed, Katie," Alicia explains logically. "Once Quidditch is over, you two will be making sweet love every night."

"Oh well that's uplifting," I say sarcastically. "I only have to wait until May for him to care."

"Katie, I hate to say it, but we told you so," Angelina says with a sympathetic smile. "He loves you, Katie. That much is obvious. He's just worried that you're going to come between him and his career."

"But I would never—"

"Not on purpose," Alicia says. "But Oliver's a guy. As much as it may not seem like it, he's constantly thinking about you."

"In ways that would make you blush," Angelina says with a smirk.

"He's just worried that he'll grow too attached to you," Alicia continues. "And forget about his goals, his dreams."

"Katie, face it," Angelina says. "During Quidditch, Oliver thinks about Quidditch. No exceptions. You either deal with it, or you don't." Well, that's encouraging.

"Just train him right," Alicia says with a smirk.

"Yeah. Men are like wood flooring. If you lay them right the first time, then you can walk all over them forever," Angelina says with a smirk. Alicia hits her in the arm and we all laugh because we know it's true. I feel much better.

I head for bed with so many thoughts chasing themselves around in my mind that it's a wonder I ever fall asleep in the first place. But before I do, I realize something. Being with Oliver is keeping me sane. I don't know where I would be without him and I can only hope that these past two months have helped him to feel the same way about me.

OoO

The next morning as my stomach dances with butterflies, I sit down for breakfast with the rest of the team and we all bask in the glory that is Harry's Firebolt.

We head for the locker rooms soon after, and it's a relief to find that the weather is perfect for Quidditch.

"You know what we have got to do," Oliver says as we get ready to step onto the pitch. "If we lose this match, we're out of the running. Just—fly like you did in practice yesterday, and we'll be okay!"

We step out onto the field to tumultuous applause and stand facing the Ravenclaw Quidditch team.

"Wood, Davies, shake hands," Madam Hooch addresses the Captains. "Mount your broomsticks…on my whistle…three—two—one—"

The whistle echoes through the stadium and I kick off the ground into the air as the quaffle is released. I rush up and grab it before zooming towards the goal. I barely dodge a bludger but recover just in time to get decent aim.

"Ten-Zero. To Gryffindor," Lee's voice echoes around the stadium.

We played our heart out—we really did. If not for ourselves, then for Oliver. He wants this more than anything. Speaking of Oliver, he's doing superb. We're up 80-30.

And then the action stops as Harry and Ravenclaw's seeker Cho Chang both dive. I was soon distracted from them as I noticed three Dementors entering the field. God Harry, hold it together.

I needn't have worried. Harry pulled out his wand and shot a jet of silver at the three creatures before turning around and grasping the snitch tightly in his hand. I scream happily and join the rest of the team as we rush to hug our Seeker.

Oliver was yelling "That's my boy!" and Alicia, Angelina, and I each give Harry a peck on the cheek.

We eventually make our way down to the ground, where all of Gryffindor is rushing towards us.

I was still in a daze as I heard George yell to all assembled, "Party! Gryffindor common room, now!"

Before I was pulled away by Angelina, I spotted Oliver shaking hands with a very important looking man wearing a Puddlemere United Jacket.

OoO

I clean myself up and then head down to enjoy the party, which is already well underway. Fred and George have apparently already snuck into Hogsmeade considering Honeyduke's chocolate and various drinks are circulating through the room. Oliver, however, is nowhere in sight. Over on the couch, I catch sight of Cullen snogging Leanne senseless. She must not be too upset about her team's loss…

I dance with Angelina and Alicia for a while, but I wasn't really enjoying it. Where the hell is Oliver?

At about midnight he appears out of nowhere and pulls me out of the common room into an abandoned classroom. His only explanation, "We need to talk."

Those are the four worst words in the English language, let me tell you. When has anything good come out of "We need to talk"?

The sad part is that I know what's coming and I blame myself… 

"I love you, Katie," he says once we get settled, and I have to admit that I wasn't expecting that.

"I love you, too," I say, confused. We've never actually said those words to each other; it's just been understood. So is this a good thing or a bad thing?

"But—" he continues. My heart drops. "I'm so confused right now, Katie. I talked to the recruiter from Puddlemere today and they're interested. If we play well for the Slytherin game, he's going to sign me."

"Well, that's great." I don't see what this has to do with me.

"Katie, don't take this the wrong way, but I just don't have time for us right now. I've got to work out some new plays—the team comes first at this point. I know you've realized I've been pulling back and I'm sorry. I've tried to make time for us—I have. There just isn't any. And that makes me even more stressed because I know that you must hate me. I'm just trying to plan for my future here."

"So you're saying I'm not a part of your future?" I ask coolly.

"No. No, Katie. I just mean that right now my future depends on the Slytherin game and I don't want anything or anyone to ruin my concentration. After Quidditch's over—"

"So you expect me to just wait for you?" I yell. "I'm not that kind of girl, Oliver! If you let me go, then there's no guarantee you'll get me back."

"Katie, come on," Oliver pleads. "I'm not breaking up with you. I just want a break. Three months. After that, everything will work itself out."

"Three months! Oliver, do you know what happens in three months? You graduate! We'll get the summer together and then you're gone. We'll fall in love all over again, just to have it all ripped away!" I can already feel my heart ripping just a little bit.

This is not happening…

"That was going to happen anyway; we can work around it!" He shouts.

"Well, I guess it's better to separate sooner rather than later then," I shout harshly. "Have fun with your broomstick!" I storm out of the room and instead of returning to the portrait hole, I head up to the Astronomy Tower. It's way past curfew, but Filch can kiss my ass.

I just sit up there, doing nothing, for about an hour—thinking about nothing in particular. I knew it had been coming, I just didn't know that it was going to be this soon.

"You okay?" A voice says form behind me. Fred. I knew he'd be here eventually. He always seems to know when I'm hurting.

"Not really," I say, trying to keep the pain from my voice and the tears from my eyes.

"Yeah, I figured," he says, sitting down next to me and producing a glorious bottle of Firewhiskey. "You drunk yet?"

"Not drunk enough," I say, taking a massive swig.

"He's an ass, Katie," he says and I don't even bother to ask how he already knows.

"Are you going to say I told you so?"

"No, I'd never do that."

We sit in silence, just drinking. It's nice to feel someone next to me. About an hour later, we're both drunk as hell, but somehow we manage to make it up to Fred's dormitory without killing ourselves. I don't know if we were spotted. I don't really care. George and Lee are already snoring when we arrive.

Our inhibitions thrown aside, Fred pulls me close and gently kisses my lips while putting a silencing charm around his bed. He pulls me down onto his sheets and closes the curtains before nipping at my neck. Our kisses are everywhere at once, so fast that I can't follow them. We're acting on pure desire and I'm not sure whether it's frightening or exciting.

My mind's telling me that this is wrong. Fred and I are friends, everyone knows that and we both understand it. We just like to play with each other's emotions. My heart is telling me that this could turn out very, very bad, but you know what? I really don't care. If Oliver's not going to give me the attention I need, then maybe Fred can.

I reach up and cautiously unbuckle Fred's belt. Realizing what I'm doing, he immediately stops kissing me.

"Katie?" he manages to get out. It seems to be the only thing that he can say.

"I'm sick of being ignored," I say fiercely. Fred has _never_ turned anyone down before and pity on him if I'm the first.

"Katie…" he trails off. I don't wait for what he's going to say, I just slam my lips against his and after a moment's hesitation, he deepens the kiss.

Friends with benefits. That's what they call it, isn't it. I never thought that I would be in that position.

I reach once again for his belt and this time he lets me remove it. His jeans aren't far behind. He's obviously trying to make me realize I don't want to do this, because he has yet to make any move to remove my clothing. I guess I'll just have to help him out a bit…

And then it hits me. I'm about to have sex with Fred. I don't like him like that! Sure, we're used to using each other, but this is crossing the line.

"Oh my God," I say, pushing him off of me.

"Yeah, see. I knew this would happen," Fred says, moving off of me so that I can sit up, and laying down on his own pillow with his hands over his head.

"I'm sorry," I apologize. "I just lost my head."

"Yeah, whatever," he mutters, rubbing his temples.

"Listen, I'm just going to go," I say, heading for the door.

"Katie...Katie, no," he says, grabbing my wrist. "Stay. Do you really feel like being alone?" I don't and Fred knows it. "Seriously, Katie—stay. I'm going to go to the bathroom, I'll be right back."

To stay or not to stay? The choice slips away as I slip into dreams.

OoO

"AAAARRRRGHHH! NOOOO!" The shout filled Gryffindor Tower, waking me up with a start. Fred sanps up next.

"Stay here," he whispers. "That's my brother."

I wait for about fifteen minutes until Fred comes back with the news.

"Sirius Black just broke into Gryffindor Tower. He tried to kill my brother."

OoO

_And let the hate mail begin…_

_Don't worry—everything will work out in the end…or will it?_

_Next time on _Love and Quidditch

"Angelina," I warn, now fully aware that she's lying.

"Okay, okay. I finally yanked up the courage to ask Lee out and he said that he was planning on asking me anyway, but there's a problem. His brothers wrote and said that their going to visit him in Hogsmeade, so we can't go unless I find them dates too."

"You're triple dating?" I ask dubiously.

"Please, Katie. I'll love you forever!"


	12. Double Date?

_Double Date?:::_

We were all gathered in the common room, waiting for McGonagall to come back and tell us whether they had caught Black or not. I had little hope, however. It'd already been hours. If they were going to catch him, they would have done it by now.

Fred and George were crowded around Ron, trying to get the full story from him. Occasionally my glance would meet Fred's and we would both avert our eyes swiftly. Great. All of the awkwardness of a one night stand, without the sex.

Ignoring all of the chaos around me, I'm currently trying to get back to sleep on the couch with my head resting on Alicia's shoulder.

"You okay, honey?" she asks, gently rubbing my back.

"Better than I was last night."

"Did you and Oliver have a fight?" she asks worriedly.

"Yeah. We kind of broke up."

"Oh. I'm so sorry," she says, hugging me tight. "But that doesn't mean it's the end. I broke up with Nick Brent last year and we—"

"Stayed broken up," I finish her sentence for her.

"Oh. Right. Well, me and Parker got back together."

"For two days!" I cry. "In second year. You broke up with him because he stole your quill in Transfiguration!"

"Okay, well that wasn't a good example either." She turns away and thinks for a moment. "Angelina and Lee! They went out last year."

"For like a week. And they're not together now anyway."

"No, but they will be soon. It's obvious," she says matter-of-factly. Well, if anyone would know, then it would definitely be Alicia.

"I was a bitch to Oliver last night," I finally admit and she continues trying to comfort me. It's the truth though. I may not be happy with him, but I'm not normally the type of person who blows up at people like that. Sure he deserved it, but that doesn't mean I should have just stormed out of there without finishing our argument. I still had steam left.

So, I spend all morning composing a note to Oliver, which I then stick on his broomstick. Lord knows that he'll find it there.

_Wood,_

_I'm sorry about last night—I shouldn't have lost my temper like I did. I understand where you're coming from, and although there were better solutions to the problem, I respect your decision. I don't know where this puts us, but I still love you and as much as I hate to admit it, I'm willing to wait._

_Katie Bell_

I hate how I don't hate him.

McGonagall came back just as the sun was rising, only to inform us that Black had escaped once again. I'm sick of having to constantly worry about this. All day there was evidence of tighter security. Some sort of protective species of trolls have even been placed in front of Gryffindor Tower. Far from making me feel safe, however, they just scare the shit out of me. I guess breaking curfew now is out of the question.

As if the staff is trying to make us feel more comfortable, a Hogsmeade weekend was scheduled for Saturday. It's kind of ironic that Oliver and I break up right before we have a chance to actually go out. Just my luck. I swear, somewhere out there there must be someone watching my story on a big screen television and thinking, "Wow, I'm glad I'm not that girl!"

"So, are you going to go to Hogsmeade?" Alicia asks me cheerfully.

I just stare at her as if she's crazy. "Uh, no," I scoff.

"Oh come on, Katie. It'll be fun. It'll keep your mind off of a certain Quidditch captain." Need I inform her that that's nearly impossible because I've been trying to do it since my second year.

"Alicia, please just shut up."

"Fine!" she says harshly and stomps away. Great, now there's two people mad at me. Alicia and Oliver. Unless Fred's mad and then that's three. But I don't really think Fred's mad...right? No, he knows I was just drunk… I think.

I'd barely had a moment to myself, however, when Angelina comes rushing over with a big smile on her face.

"Katie, guess what?" she says, coming to a sudden halt in front of me.

"Hogsmeade this weekend?" I guess.

"Yes, but that's not all!"

"Okay well, what else?"

"Guess!"

"I don't want to guess!"

"Guess!" Oh my God! Is she mental? I'm so not in the mood for this right now.

"You have a date?" I guess—it's not an abnormal occurrence. She nods happily.

"Guess who with?"

"Can't you just tell me?" Please, dear God.

"No—guess!"

"Cormac McLaggen, Roger Davies…" I name off in a monotone. She shakes her head. "Do you want me to go through the entire male population of Hogwarts? It is a guy right?"

"Yes, it's a guy," she says, annoyed. "And he's in my year."

"Okay?"

"He's in our house," she prompts, really starting to get aggravated. I look up and notice just how truly happy she is.

"Oh my God!" I exclaim happily. "You're going with Lee. But I thought that he had a girlfriend. Fred and George said—"

"Yeah well, when have Fred and George ever been right? He was just having a lunch date with his cousin Stephanie. I can't believe that I believed those fucking bastards."

Alicia must be able to read minds…just this morning she said that they would get together soon. Weird…

"Wait!" I say, something clicking in my head. "Stephanie Jordan? Like the keeper for the Holyhead Harpies. That Stephanie Jordan? She's Lee's cousin?" Why do so many people have relatives that play for the harpies? And why in my deep despair am I still thinking about the Holyhead Harpies? I think I've been around Oliver too much.

"I know—isn't it awesome? But anyway, you have to come to Hogsmeade this weekend. Alicia's going to need someone to talk to." Not this again.

"I don't want to go," I groan.

"Come on, Katie. It'll be fun."

"Why do you even care if I go?" I ask, suspicious of her intentions.

"I just want you to enjoy yourself while you're still single." I'm going to kill Alicia for telling her that.

"Why did she tell you that?" I groan.

"Who?" Angelina asks warily. "I heard it from Dean Thomas."

"But how did he—"

"Katie, you should know by now that this school is just one big black hole of gossip. I'm sorry about your loss, but back to the original topic. Go to Hogsmeade, please!" And there's the puppy dog pout…

"Angelina," I warn, now fully aware that she's lying.

"Okay, okay. When I finally yanked up the courage to ask Lee out he said that he was planning on asking me, but there's a problem. His brothers wrote and said that their going to visit him in Hogsmeade, so we can't go unless I find them dates too."

"You're triple dating?" I ask dubiously.

"Well, it sounds like an orgy when you say it like that."

"His brothers are 17 and 19!" I exclaim. "I'm fifteen!"

"So! Oliver's seventeen. Please, Katie. I'll love you forever! It's not even a real date. Just keep them entertained—okay that sounded dirty, but please…" she whines. I roll my eyes.

"If Alicia says yes, then I'll do it." No chance in heaven will Alicia say yes.

OoO

"No way! No effing way!" Alicia says ten minutes later once we arrive on the Quidditch pitch. "He's nineteen!"

"But you're sixteen!" Angelina argues as I sit down next to Alicia with a smug smile on my face. "What if you took the seventeen-year-old?"

"No way!" I cry. "That leaves me with the nineteen-year-old. Four years older than me!"

"Oh come on, Katie. You know that's hot," Alicia jokes as Angelina groans in frustration at us not taking her seriously.

"Be serious!" Angelina yells, scaring some birds out of a nearby tree. "You know how important this is to me!"

"But I think George is finally going to ask me," Alicia whines. Angelina and I immediately stop and stare. Sure, we've known for ages that the two of them like each other, but she's never actually admitted it before. "It's not like it's a secret," she says.

"Fine. If George asks you, you're off the hook. But until then, will you please agree to go?" Angelina compromises.

"Fine. And he better be good-looking or I'm going to hex you into oblivion."

"Katie, you in?" Angelina asks cheerfully, ignoring Alicia's threat.

"Yeah," I groan.

"I'm going to go tell Lee," she squeals and runs off towards the castle.

"That bitch has lost her mind," Alicia mutters and I laugh.

"Hey, look—Fred and George," Alicia says pointing towards the twins who are, sure enough, heading our way.

"Hello, pretty ladies," George greets, collapsing onto the ground with his head in Alicia's lap.

"Get off of me, George," she whines, pushing him away but smiling the entire time. He gets out of her lap and she gives him a pleased smirk. He rolls his eyes and gently pushes her. She pushes him back. God, they are so perfect for each other.

"So, what are you two doing out here?" Fred asks, laughing at his brother.

"Just wondering if Lee's brothers are cute," I say and George stops harassing Alicia.

"Given up on Oliver?" Fred jokes.

"As if," Alicia says. "Angelina's going to Hogsmeade with Lee and we're taking his brothers."

"What?" the twins say together with totally different expressions on their faces.

"What what?" Alicia asks, confused.

"Angelina's going out with Lee?" Fred asks.

"You're going on a blind date?" George laughs and Alicia hits him again.

"Yes and yes," she says, punctuating each 'yes' with a hit to George's shoulder.

"That son of a bitch," Fred mutters and gets up, heading back towards the castle.

"What's up with him?" I ask George as he lays his head down in Alicia's lap.

"Well…" George says, pondering whether or not to tell us. And that's when it hit me. Angelina! That's who Fred likes!

"Oh my God!" I say and run after Fred's retreating form.

"Fred!" I yell, trying to stop him. He ignores me so I run faster. "Fred," I gasp, finally catching up to him.

"What, Katie?" he asks fiercely, turning around to face me. This is the first time in my life I've ever seen him mad. And I freeze. I just stand there staring at him with wide eyes because for a second I actually think that he's going to hit me.

"What is it, Katie?" he asks, calming himself just enough to speak to me civilly.

"Just don't do anything—anything you'll regret. Calm down, first," I manage to choke out. Fred rubs his temples hard.

"I know," he finally admits and runs off towards the lake instead. Hopefully he won't try to drown himself.

OoO

Fred almost made it through the week without doing anything stupid. I was actually quite proud of him. Almost.

Friday night as I was getting ready for bed, I heard him and Angelina going at it in the common room. He was letting out his anger on Angelina who had no idea what she'd done.

To the best of my knowledge, I'm able to assume that Lee knew Fred liked Angelina when he agreed to go with her. That must be against the Guy Rules or something. It's like Leanne going out with Oliver.

Right, I know why he's mad now. I open the door to my dorm in order to hear them better.

"Fred, why the hell are you yelling at me?" Angelina yells.

"Oh, like you don't already know!" She doesn't.

"I don't!"

"Well then why don't you ask Lee; I'm sure he'll tell you!"

"What the hell are you two talking about?" A new voice joins the mix. Lee. He must have been listening from the stairs too. Feeling just how angry Fred is, I rush down to calm him. I'm the only one who can do it besides George and I'm sure that he doesn't want any part in this right now. His best friend against his brother—poor boy.

"Just stay the fuck away from me!" Fred yells, just as I reach the common room. Before I can even say a word, he's out of the portrait hole.

Angelina, tears welling up in her eyes, rushes for the stairs. When she sees me, she puts on the fakest smile I've ever seen and says, "Don't be late for our date tomorrow!" I just nod and she bounds up the stairs. I hate Fred for ruining this for her.

My eyes and Lee's meet and at the same time, we both just shrug. There's nothing we can do. Fred obviously doesn't want to talk to Lee about it and I'm not about to be the one that tells Angelina that Fred likes her. She'd die of shock. I head back to my room and try to get some sleep.

OoO

I get up early the next morning. And I mean _real_ early. Like before the sun's up early. Don't ask me why—I just couldn't sleep. I throw a glance in the mirror and decide that my hair's not worth messing with—this is actually one of my better hair days. I slip into a pair of jeans and a Holyhead Harpies T-shirt before heading down to the common room.

With four hours to spare. Fun.

And now I'm tired again—just my luck.

Thinking I'll just fall asleep on the couch or something, I continue my trek down to the comfy warmth of the common room. When I arrive, I am very surprised to find that I am not alone. Oliver is there, bent over his playbook.

I honestly don't know what got into me then—I guess it was just how tired I was—but for some strange reason I totally forgot that Oliver and I weren't still dating. To be honest, we're spending the same amount of time together—none. Even though it has only been a day.

So, during this lapse of judgment what do I do? I crawl up next to him, rest my head on his shoulder, and go to sleep.

OoO

I was awakened a few hours later by the whispers that fill the common room.

"Aw, they're so cute."

"But they broke up, didn't they?"

"Looks like they got back together."

I desperately want to open my eyes and tell them to shut the fuck up, but I can't. I'm too comfortable.

"Katie," I hear Angelina say gently. I open my eyes to see her squatting on the floor next to me, where I'm lying on the couch. "Wake up, honey," she says happily. I groan and then realize that there's an arm around my waist. Oliver.

"Damn!" I mutter, jumping up and waking Oliver with a start. He brushes his hair out of his eyes and looks around groggily. It'd be cute if it weren't so fucking embarrassing.

"Ready to go?" Angelina asks with a laugh, while fixing my hair with her hand.

"Yeah sure. Where's Alicia?" I ask, trying to wake my self up. Oliver gets up from the couch and heads for his dorm without a word.

"Well, it's actually a kind of funny story. Guess who asked her out last night?" The look on her face made the answer perfectly clear. I scream—no lie. Loud.

"George and Alicia—finally!"

"I know; isn't it wonderful?" Angelina laughs. "Anyway, Lee's brother, Luke, is dating a seventh Ravenclaw, so it all works out perfectly. He's going to spend the day with her."

"Okay, so that just leaves you, me, Lee, and…who?"

"Logan—the seventeen-year-old. He can't do magic or anything, but he's really hot; looks a lot like Lee. They're meeting us at the Three Broomsticks."

I quickly grab a jacket—one of the female persuasion this time—and Angelina practically drags me to Hogsmeade, talking about Lee the whole time.

"So this Logan guy knows that this is not a real date, right?" I ask, interrupting her rant about Lee's dragon tattoo. "Like he knows I have a boyfriend?"

"But you don't have a boyfriend." Thanks for pointing that out. I must have a mental disorder—why can't I remember that? It seems like the type of thing that a girl would remember.

"No; but I do have a boy—who is a friend—with the potential to become a boyfriend—again."

"Okay, don't hurt yourself. We're here." I roll my eyes as we enter the Three Broomsticks. Angelina promptly squeals and runs across the crowded pub. It takes a few seconds for my ears to stop ringing, but when they do I manage to locate where Angelina has run off to and walk over.

Angelina and Lee were sitting facing me—his arm draped around her shoulder—but all I could see of Logan was the back of his head. In contrast to Lee's dreads, his head was shaved. Bracing myself for whatever lies ahead, I arrive at the table.

"Hi," I greet awkwardly.

"Hi," they all say back. Unsure of what to do, I stay standing. They all just stare for a few seconds.

"You can sit down," Angelina says with a laugh.

"Right," I say, embarrassed, slowly sinking into the seat next to Logan. Before I was even all the way seated, Angelina and Lee were deep in conversation and it was obvious I was going to be left to entertain Logan on my own.

"You don't want to be here, do you?" he asks and I turn to look at him for the first time. Wow, he's cute. Angelina was right; he looks a lot like Lee. Calm your thoughts, Katie. Okay, speak:

"It's not that. It's just that I just broke up with my boyfriend and—actually, you're right. I really don't want to be here. No offense."

"Listen, don't worry. I have a girlfriend," he says calmly.

"Then what are we doing here?" I ask with a laugh, looking over at Angelina and Lee who are paying us no attention.

"I have no clue," he laughs. "I told Lee that I didn't have to go, but he insisted." Perhaps aroused by his name, Lee turns to the two of us.

"Stop complaining. You're leaving for your girlfriend's place in like two hours, right? Everyone wins."

"Yeah, whatever," Logan says with a grin.

"Okay, so me and Ange are out of here," Lee says, startling us both.

"Wait, what?" I ask.

"No offense, Katie. But I really want some alone time with Lee," Angelina says smiling brightly. Why does she have to make it so impossible to be mad at her? Payback time.

"Why don't you just skip the date and go shag? We all know you've done it before," I say truthfully. They got mega-drunk last year. Long story.

"Katie!" Angelina exclaims while Logan covers his head and says, "Too much information about my little brother."

"Why can't we ever have a meal without yelling?" Lee asks, more to himself than anyone else.

"We're leaving," Angelina says, giving me a death glare. "Buh-Bye."

"Bye, Ange," I say with a wave. She just rolls her eyes and leaves hand in hand with Lee.

"They're cute," I say, getting out of the booth and moving to the other side, so that I was across from Logan.

"He's in love with her," Logan says. "Or just really obsessed. Do you think they'll last?" I think for a second.

"It depends," I say finally.

"On what?"

"Him," I say, pointing at Fred who'd just walked in.

"Fred?" he asks surprised. "No way! What does he have to do with them?" Spotting us, Fred begins to walk over.

"Logan!" Fred greets with one of those weird handshake things that guys do. "Just saw Luke."

"So, you in love with Lee's girl?" Logan asks with a smirk. It's obvious that they are friends. Fred throws me a glare.

"Sorry," I mutter.

"Yeah, I am," Fred answers Logan. "Got a problem with that?"

"Absolutely not, mate. Just don't get me involved."

Fred laughs. "They've got some new products in at Zonko's. Unless you're taking this date thing seriously—want to go check them out?"

"Yeah, that'd be awesome," Logan says excitedly. "Well, unless…" he turns to me.

"Go. I need to get back to the castle anyway." Thank you, Fred. Seriously. Being alone with a guy I don't even know all day is a little too weird. Even for me.

"Well, it was nice to meet you," Logan says, standing.

"You too." And then they were gone.

"Boys," I mutter, to no one but myself.

OoO

_Long chapter, I know. Hope you don't mind… Oh, let me know if you think I should change the rating. I've noticed that I cuss a lot in this story. To me, an M rating is a story with a lot of sex in it. This isn't that type of story. Well, not really. I don't mind changing the rating though if any of you think it should be changed. Just let me know._

_Next time on _Love and Quidditch

"Oliver?" I ask, trying to wake him back up. "Oliver!"

His eyes suddenly shoot open, scaring me. He frantically begins getting up to leave.

"Not so fast," I say, getting up also. "Why were you in my bed?"

_Probably not what you're imagining but you'll just have to wait and see. Review, please._


	13. The Quidditch Cup

_The Quidditch Cup::_

The Easter holidays came and went in a blur of Quidditch. Forbidden to leave Hogwarts by Oliver, we spent pretty much every waking hour on the pitch. I didn't even have time to think about the fact that Oliver and I had now been broken up for two months.

Well, much. Two months? Wow.

And that in itself is getting harder—the being broken up part. It's almost like a physical pain, needing him. Being apart has seriously somehow managed to bring us closer together. Crazy, right?

Maybe I'm reading too much into things but we're spending all of our breaks and lunches together; he's even let me help him create a few plays. I guess he's more comfortable with us just being friends right now.

On another note, however, I can tell that he's seriously starting to want me back. And both of our Quidditch games are suffering because of it. I can play fine, it's just when I have to score in Oliver's goal during practices that I have a problem. And Angelina doesn't make it much easier. What, with her yelling at me to flash Oliver in order to score. We both nearly fell off of our brooms when she said that.

And we're not the only ones who are getting distracted during practice.

Alicia and George are insanely out of it, not to mention incredibly cute. I'm still not exactly sure if they're officially going out but they're perfect together none the less. He's insanely overprotective though. About a week ago, Oliver told Fred to try and knock Alicia off of her broom (don't ask me why; this is Oliver we're talking about). Well, he succeeded and George shot a bludger at him. Oliver yelled at him for about five minutes after that.

Angelina and Fred are always fighting. Thank God they don't have to actually work together during a game, or we would lose for sure. Fred's been taking way too much pleasure in aiming bludgers at Angelina lately and since George is so busy protecting Alicia, Angelina's been hit more than once. As long as she's with Lee, Fred's going to be mad. And I still don't think Angelina knows why he's acting the way that he is.

I think Harry's the only one whose mind is fully on Quidditch. But then again he has a mass murderer after him, so who knows.

But putting aside our relationship problems (I see what Oliver meant by not dating team members now), we are practicing harder than ever. This is _the game_. The game it all depends on: the cup, Oliver's future, Oliver and _my_ future together. Because somehow in my mind, winning this cup has become associated with me and Oliver getting back together. Hopefully I'm right.

And this game's against Slytherin. Even if we weren't playing for the cup we'd have to beat them.

I'm feeling pretty confident. Oliver's another story, however. The thing is that we're confident Harry can get the snitch but there's a catch. He has to get it when we're 50 points up or we win the game, but lose the cup.

The whole school's been crazy for weeks but this week, the week before the game, it's been astronomically worsened. Cormac McLaggen got into a fight with a Slytherin fourth year and let me just tell you, the results were not pretty. Fights like that have been breaking out all over the school. No one's safe anymore. Professor Flitwick even got hit by a stray spell yesterday. Poor bloke. He's just so tiny; we can't see him in the crossfire.

Now that the night before the match has arrived, we all sit in the common room, dreading tomorrow. Whoever thinks that Quidditch players don't get nervous, they are so wrong.

As usual, Fred and George are not at all worried, but are instead entertaining the whole common room with their jokes. And even when they're not funny, everyone laughs.

When Oliver finally shouts for the team to go to bed, I run up the stairs and into my room. Even though I know that it will be a sleepless night, I just want to be alone. I climb into my bed, still in my Hogwarts robes and try to sleep.

It seemed like two minutes later that my wand set off a volley of sparks meant to wake me up—wizarding version of an alarm clock. I groan and pull the covers tighter around me. Still half asleep, I snuggle deeper into my bed. My tossing, however, wakes me up enough to realize something—I'm not the only one in my bed. My heart immediately starts rushing. What the hell is going on?

Now fully awake and in full defense mode, I slowly turn over. And there, sleeping peacefully, is Oliver. If it wasn't so damn romantic, I'd be more worried about castle security.

"How the hell did you get up the stairs?" I complain, even though he's asleep. My voice seems to rouse him, however.

"Hm?" he groans.

"The stairs?" I ask again.

"Broom," he says, pointing to the foot of my bed. And there on my comforter is Oliver's Nimbus 1700. Just great. I finally get him in my bed and his broom tags along.

"Oliver?" I ask rudely, trying to wake him back up. "Oliver!"

His eyes suddenly shoot open, scaring me. "Slytherin!" he says frantically and begins getting up to leave.

"Not so fast," I say, getting up also. "Why were you in my bed?" I ask in a furious whisper. The last thing I want is for my roommates to hear this.

"I just couldn't sleep," he says. "I was supposed to be gone by the time you got up." Smart plan, dumb ass.

"But—"

"Katie, I've got to go," he says angrily, getting on his broom and flying out the door. I slam it behind him. If anyone's going to be mad, it's going to be me. What the hell was he thinking—God, he's an idiot. And I'm still in love with him.

OoO

We all head down for breakfast together and as we enter the Great Hall, three of the house tables begin cheering wildly. It's a mark of how nervous we are that Fred and George don't bow.

"Eat," Oliver urges us as we take our seats. "We need our energy."

"Then why don't _you_ eat," I demand harshly. He stops urging after that and a few minutes later, he hurries us outside onto the field. Applause follows us once again.

"Okay—no wind to speak of—sun's a bit bright, that could impair your vision, watch out for it—ground's fairly hard, good, that'll give us a fast kickoff—"

Just an observation, but isn't the ground always hard? After several minutes of Oliver pacing across the field, students begin filing towards the lawn.

"Locker rooms," Oliver manages to choke out in a higher pitched voice than usual.

We change in silence and only a few moments later Oliver was saying, "Okay, it's time—let's go—" I am so thankful I didn't eat breakfast right about now.

We march out onto the field and as I always do, I tune out everything except Lee. I need his commentating skills.

Oliver and Flint shake hands and as soon as Madam Hooch blows the whistle, I'm in the air.

Alicia grabs the quaffle and quickly heads for goal. Suddenly, Warrington of Slytherin zooms by and takes the quaffle from her. I didn't even see him coming…I change directions just in time to see George hit a bludger straight at him. I guess having an angry boyfriend can pay off every once and a while. Angelina grabs the quaffle and heads for goal.

"Gryffindor back in possession," I hear Lee say. "Come on, Angelina—nice swerve around Montague—_duck, Angelina that's a bludger!_ She scores! Ten-zero to Gryffindor!"

It's cute how he was so worried about her…Oh wait—goal! Yes!

Angelina is flying around the pitch, screaming in delight but suddenly that scream turns into a cry of pain. Marcus Flint had crashed straight into her. Accident my ass! He was trying to knock her off!

"Sorry!" I hear Flint say to Hooch. "Sorry, didn't see her!" Okay, even he's not _that_ thick.

Suddenly, Fred's Beater bat comes soaring out of nowhere and hits Flint on the back of his head, causing his nose to hit the handle of his broomstick. I hope it's broken…

"That will do!" Madam Hooch shrieks. "Penalty shot to Gryffindor for an unprovoked attack on their Chaser! Penalty shot to Slytherin for deliberate damage to _their_ Chaser!"

"Come off it, Miss," Fred cries, but Hooch ignores him. Alicia takes our penalty.

"Yes! She's beaten the Keeper! Twenty-zero Gryffindor!"

Now it's Flint's turn—Flint versus Wood. Come on, Oliver.

" 'Course, Wood's a superb Keeper!" Lee rambles. "Superb! Very difficult to pass—very difficult indeed—yes! I don't believe it! He's saved it!" I fly forward and engulf Angelina and Alicia in a hug. Twenty-zero…

I quickly take possession of the quaffle but before I can even comprehend what is happening, I turn to see Flint carrying _my _quaffle. I ram into him, forcing him to drop it and I quickly regain possession. Montague swerves in front of me and I turn so that he can't get the quaffle, but it turns out that that's not what he's been aiming for. He grabs my head and it's a miracle I even managed to stay on my broom.

"That was deliberate!" Lee shouts above the crowd.

Madam Hooch flies over and yells at Montague for about a minute before allowing me to take the penalty.

"Thirty-zero! Take that!"

There was a sudden commotion by the goal posts and I turn to see Harry and that twit Malfoy heading for the snitch. He can't catch it now! We're not fifty points up! Two bludgers are shot at Harry, but he dodges both of them. Unsatisfied, the Slytherin Beaters, Bole and Derrick, head for Harry with their clubs raised. Oh dear Jesus… Right before they reach Harry, however, he rises into the air and the Beaters collide.

Taking advantage of our distraction, Flint heads towards goal—come on, Oliver. But no luck. Flint scores. Thirty to ten.

The game continues to get more and more dangerous after that. Bole hits Alicia with his club saying that he thought she was a bludger. So what's Alicia's almost-boyfriend to do? George elbows Bole in the face and we both receive penalties. I score for Gryffindor and Oliver makes another awesome save. Forty-ten.

I score again. Fifty-ten. Fred and George flank me after I score, trying to keep me safe from Slytherin's vengeance, but I wasn't the one who needed it. Two bludgers in a row hit Oliver in the stomach. I almost started crying I was so scared, but he was only winded. Gryffindor penalty—Angelina scores. Sixty to ten.

Only a second later, Fred hits a bludger at Warrington and Alicia is able to retrieve the quaffle from him. 70-10 to Gryffindor! Oh my God! If Harry catches the snitch now, then we win!

And then it happened. The snitch appears not twenty feet from Harry and he puts on a burst of speed. He would have caught it too, if Malfoy hadn't grabbed the Firebolt from behind.

"Penalty," Madam Hooch shouts angrily. "Penalty to Gryffindor."

Alicia took the shot and missed. And she's the calmest of us all. God, we're starting to lose our concentration.

"Montague scores," Lee groans. Way to be un-biased. "70-20 to Gryffindor…."

Angelina recovers the quaffle and heads for goal, me and Alicia flanking her on either side. The Slytherin Chasers (and God they're huge) suddenly push me and Alicia out of the way while the remainder of the Slytherin team comes pelting towards Angelina. That's going to hurt.

Seconds before impact, Harry shoots at the Slytherins sending them in all directions.

"She scores! She scores! Gryffindor leads by 80 points to 20!"

The last few seconds of the game go by in slow motion. Malfoy is heading towards the snitch but he's no match for Harry and the Firebolt. Harry quickly gains on him, knocks his hand out of the way and grabs the snitch.

Holy Fuck! We just won the Cup!

Oliver was the first to reach Harry and I'm almost positive I saw him crying. Fred and George pelt into the two boys, not even bothering to slow down. Finally, Angelina, Alicia, and I make it over.

"We've won the Cup! We've won the Cup!" We chant.

We slowly make our way down to the ground and Dumbledore presents Oliver with the Cup. Still crying, Oliver passes it to Harry who lifts it into the air as we all yell. I have never been this happy in my entire life!

Leanne comes over amidst the group of cheering fans and congratulates me, Cullen attached to her waist. I thank them, but who I really want to talk to now is Oliver. I eventually find him and notice that he too is searching for me.

"Oliver!" I cry. He turns and smiles at me before pushing his way through the throng of people until he reaches me.

"Katie," he sighs. "I need to tell you—"

"Mr. Wood?" an elderly man interrupts. I instantly recognized him as the Puddlemere scout form the Ravenclaw game. "Do you have a minute?" Oliver looks torn as to whether to leave or not, so I give him an encouraging smile. He returns it with an apologetic grin and turns to talk to the scout. I give him one last glance and head in the opposite direction. We'll talk later.

Suddenly, I hear Oliver shout above the crowd, "Katie, wait!" I just have time to turn around before Oliver's pressing his lips against mine. I don't know how long we stayed like that and I don't care how many people saw. This is how it's supposed to be.

He finally broke the kiss and turned back to Mr. Puddlemere who was wearing a slightly shocked expression on his withered features. "So, you were saying…?"

OoO

_Sorry for the lack of action in this chapter, but I had to include the Cup and I hope the last part makes up for it :D _

_I'm sorry to inform you that there will be no teasers for the remainder of this story. Mainly because the other chapters haven't been typed up yet, but also because I don't want to ruin anything. I'll update within a week—promise. We're getting close! Two more chapters and an epilogue! Review, review, please. _


	14. Puddlemere

_Puddlemere::_

Everyone's gathered in the Common Room, celebrating our win of the Quidditch Cup. Oliver and I are a bit preoccupied, however…

"So, what does this mean?" I ask, gently pushing Oliver off of me. We've been having some fun on the Common Room couch for about an hour now. I'm so glad Quidditch is over.

"What do you mean?" he asks, bending down to kiss my neck.

"Well, you graduate in less than a month."

"Shh," he says, silencing me with his lips. I know that I shouldn't have let him—we need to work this out—but right now I just want to be carefree for a while.

"Hey, Katie?" A voice asks, sitting down next to me and scaring me so bad that I accidentally bite Oliver's lip.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry," I apologize, sending Fred a death glare. "What the hell do you want?"

"To talk," he says simply.

"Talk to him, Katie. I'll be right back," Oliver says, getting up and walking away sucking on his rapidly swelling lip. Yeah, that's embarrassing.

"What do you want, Fred?" I ask, agitated.

"So are you two going back out?"

"Yeah, sure," I answer. "Can you please get to the point?" He doesn't answer, just stares out across the common room. I follow his gaze and quickly spot Angelina and Lee making out in a corner. A sudden rush of pity for Fred engulfs me. The one girl that he's ever really wanted and his best friend gets her.

"Listen, I know that you really like her but there's nothing that I can do for you right now. I just really want to be kissing Oliver like Angelina and Lee are, so can you please go find George or something?" Fred frowns at me for a second and then uses his hand to turn my head in a different direction. Oh, look at that. Alicia and George are snogging in the other corner.

"Aw, Fred, are you lonely?" I joke.

"Yes," he answers with a pout.

"Come on! Just let me kiss Oliver before he changes his mind."

"Do you really think that you two will be able to date after this year? He'll be at Puddlemere and you'll be back here." Way to ruin the mood. I just stare across the room at Oliver who's getting a butterbeer, unwilling to admit that I'm worried about that very thing.

"We can make it work," I say confidently.

"Ok, you can. But do you want to? Think about it, Katie. You come back to school in September—four months away—and Oliver heads off to play at Puddlemere. Say that there's a Hogsmeade weekend maybe once a month. And that's a lot considering that we only had two before Christmas this year. That's only four days that you will see him before Christmas. I won't even mention that Puddlemere normally plays on Saturdays, making the chances of Oliver being able to show up for a Hogsmeade visit rare indeed. And then Christmas comes. Great, but only two weeks later you're back here and he's there. And then you repeat the whole process. Over and over again until you graduate. Does that really sound appealing to you?"

"Well, no—but we can make it work—"

"Katie, I'm not trying to tell you that you can't be together—I think it's great that you are. I'm just saying that it's going to be hard." I sit there in silence. "Just think about it. I don't want to see you get hurt."

He then gets up and walks away. How is it that I can go from feeling enormously happy to feeling confused beyond belief in a space of minutes?

Oliver immediately takes Fred's place, his lip magically healed.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," I say once he's sat down, referring to his lip that had just moments before been swelling massively.

"No; it's fine. Turned me on a little bit," he jokes.

"Shut up," I say, pushing him gently. He just laughs. "So, did you talk to the scout from Puddlemere?" I continue, just now realizing that we hadn't discussed that particular matter yet.

"Oh yeah," Oliver says excitedly. "He said that he really enjoyed my performance and would let me know about an opening on the team by the end of June."

"Great—that's great," I say. And is it horrible that I only half mean it? Honestly, it doesn't matter what he does for living; we're going to be separated anyway. And there's nothing that I can do about it.

OoO

A few days later, Oliver and I sit out on the lawns during break. He's leaning against a tree and I'm trying not to fall asleep in his lap. "Katie?" he whispers into my ear.

"What?" I whisper back, my eyes remaining firmly shut.

"We have class in five minutes," he says, kissing the top of my head.

"I don't feel like going," I groan.

"Well, I've got to go—"

"Why?" I ask, opening one eye. He laughs at me.

"Because I start my NEWTs next week. And McGonagall would kill me."

"Don't go, Oliver," I plead, snuggling closer to him.

"Katie," he groans back. Good, I've almost got him. I give him a nice puppy dog pout for good measure. "Fine, we can skip one class—wait, what are you missing?"

"Potions," I say with a smirk.

"Not fair," he complains.

"Well, you have Potions when I have Transfiguration and we both know I can't miss that." I gaze out across the lake towards the remaining students who haven't yet gone to their next class. Slowly, they begin filtering back into the building until only two remain—Fred and Lee.

"Katie, are you listening to me?" Oliver interrupts my thoughts.

"Yeah, sure."

"What are you looking at?" he asks and I point across the lake at the two boys.

"Don't worry. I'm sure this isn't the first time they've skived off of a class." Well, duh. Is Oliver blind? Does he not see the tension between those two? Does he not know that they're practically ready to kill each other over Angelina?

"I know that," I say, frustrated. "But they're not talking."

"Yes, they are," he says, pointing at the boys who are, in fact, talking.

"No," I say rolling my eyes. "I mean they haven't been talking lately. They've been mad at each other."

"Why?"

"Angelina."

"I don't understand."

"Lee's dating Angelina," I explain.

"Yeah…" He's obviously not used to drama.

"Fred wants to."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"So that's why Fred and Angelina have been fighting so much during practice?" I nod and look back at the two boys. I can faintly hear Oliver still trying to get my attention, but I ignore him, watching Fred and Lee intently. Realizing he's not going to be able to get my attention, Oliver settles for just pulling me closer to him.

"Can you hear what they're saying?" I ask, straining my own ears.

"Yeah, Katie. I have super sonic hearing now," he jokes and I hit his arm, turning around to face him and giving up on trying to hear Fred's conversation. "Are you going to pay attention to me?" he asks, taking my face in his hands.

"Yeah, sorry. I just get easily distracted."

"I realized." I smile at him and lean up to place a quick kiss on his lips. When I pull away, he just sits there smiling at me for a few seconds.

"What?" I ask.

"I love you, Katie," he says with a small laugh. And it hits me then that it's the first time he's ever said that without breaking up with me immediately afterwards.

"I love you, too." He leans in and kisses me deeply and I forget all about Fred and Lee.

OoO

As the June heat arrived, so did Oliver's NEWTs and spending time alone with him became almost impossible. According to him, if he didn't get at least two NEWTs, he wasn't allowed into the Professional Quidditch League. According to me, he's guaranteed one in Transfiguration, but whatever.

The point is that I can't be in the same room with him while he's studying or he gets "distracted." Likewise, Angelina and Alicia are preparing for their OWLs, so I've also been kicked out of their dorm. So who does that leave to entertain me?

The only two fifth years not studying, of course. Fred, George, and I sit on the sofas in the Common Room playing Exploding Snap for almost a week straight, sometimes joined by Lee. It seems like Fred and Lee are getting on well again. He and Angelina have been keeping the public displays of affection to a minimum, anyway.

"So, have you and Oliver worked things out yet?" Fred asks late one night while he and I are once again playing Exploding Snap. George has fallen asleep on the couch next to us.

"Worked what out?"

"Katie, it's been almost a month. Are you and Oliver really going to stay together while you're still at school?"

"Fred, please don't," I groan.

"Sorry," he mumbles. He's trying to help me, I know it. I'm just not ready for this conversation yet.

"What do you want me to do, Fred? I love him!"

"Pray he doesn't make Puddlemere?" he suggests with a shrug.

"What difference does it make whether he gets on the team or not? And I'm not going to make him choose between me and his happiness," I argue.

"Katie, no matter how much he loves you—"

"Can we just drop it, please?"

"Okay, fine."

OoO

Once OWLs and NEWTs were over, things shifted back to a relative normalcy. Except, of course, for the fact that Oliver was more uptight than ever—Puddlemere had promised to reply by the end of the month.

And then it happened.

I was asleep, when all of a sudden I was awoken by a large owl landing on my head. I let out a scream, which no one seems to have heard. It's good to know that if someone was ever really attacking me, my roommates wouldn't notice.

I push the owl off of my face and quickly grab the letter tied to his claw, as he prepares to take off once again through the open window. I light the tip of my wand and read the note:

Katie,

Meet me out on the pitch—now.

Love,

Oliver

Slightly dazed, I climb out of bed and stumble out of the portrait hole without even putting slippers on. The security trolls grunt at me on my way out and I throw them a rude hand gesture, along with a nice "oh, go fuck yourself." Have I ever mentioned that I'm not a morning person?

Aside from the trolls, I didn't meet anyone else, and exited the building without any problems. In hindsight, I probably should have been a bit worried about Dementors, but they guard Hogsmeade, not Hogwarts, so I guess I was safe.

I silently make my way onto the pitch, and at the very center of it is Oliver. He's sitting on a blanket and looking all suave, still in his school uniform.

"Hey," I greet, not questioning the venue or the hour, but just laying down with my head in Oliver's lap, ready to go back to sleep.

"Guess what, Katie?" he asks, softly stroking my hair.

"Mm?" I groan, slowly drifting back to sleep.

"I got a letter a few minutes ago. I wanted to tell you first." My eyes pop open.

"The letter from Puddlemere United," I say.

"Yeah, and do you know what it says?" I do know, because no Quidditch team is dumb enough to turn down Oliver.

"They said yes," I say, sitting up. Oliver just nods vigorously and I can't help but smile. He's just so damn happy; I've never seen him like this before.

"I'm happy for you," I say, and it's the truth. No matter what this means for us as a couple, at least he's happy.

"Katie, you don't understand how awesome I feel! This is perfect—by far the best day of my life! I'll be on the reserve team next year, but after that I'll probably be playing. Their Keeper's not that good and—"

I press my lips to his, just wanting to silence his talking because for some strange reason, he's making me extremely sad. It doesn't take long for Oliver to deepen the kiss, and it takes even less time for his hands to begin roaming my body—something that he'd never allowed himself to do before. It was a welcome change to the safe, cautious Oliver that I am used to.

He pulls me closer and slips his tongue into my mouth so that my whole body tingles with desire. And as he slips his hand under my shirt it hits me.

"Oh my God! You want to have sex," I say, pushing him away from me. He just stares at me dumbfounded for a few seconds and I see the answer in his eyes. And now I feel horrible—like I've led him on or something. It's not that I don't want to it's just—damn you, Fred Weasley for putting all of these doubts in my head! "Oliver, I can't—we can't. I'm just really confused. We—I—you," I stutter, unable to form coherent thoughts because I honestly don't know what I'm trying to say.

I want this so bad and yet...

"No, no, Katie. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have. We don't have to do anything. I'm just so damn happy—I lost my mind there for a second."

"It's fine," I assure him.

"Katie, what's wrong?" he asks after a few seconds, forcing me to look into his eyes. "And don't tell me it's nothing because you've been acting a bit odd for weeks." I just sit there in silence, trying to figure out whether to bring up the topic that I've been so desperately avoiding.

"After graduation, you leave," I say simply.

"Is that all that's bothering you?" he asks with a smile.

"Yes, Oliver, it is," I say rather rudely, angry that he's not taking me seriously. "When I go back to school, what do _we _do? I won't see you until Christmas and even then I'm still living with my dad."

"Katie, relax. We can make it work."

"How? Are you really willing to have a girlfriend that you can't even kiss for months at a time?"

"Yes, I am," he says without even pausing and I can tell that he's thought long and hard about this. "I love you, Katie." My heart melts as he says that, but I have to figure this out.

"But how, Oliver? I need a plan!"

"Well, we could…" he trails off.

"See! It's not that easy, is it?" I accuse.

"Well, what do _you_ suggest we do then?!"

"I have no clue. That's why I can't just go around shagging you right now. Not if we're just going to end up breaking up at the end of the summer," I say, raising my voice slightly. He thinks about that for a second.

"I don't want to break up," he says and my heart swells.

"Well, I don't want to break up either."

"Then we won't," he says as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. Can it really be that simple? "I love you, Katie. I'm not willing to give that up just yet."

"I love you, too."

"Okay then, what's the problem?" When I can't come up with anything, he pulls me into a big hug. "You worry too much, Katie," he says with a laugh.

"Congratulations on Puddlemere by the way," I say, still wrapped in his arms. Maybe things are going to work out after all.

OoO

_Next Chapter: Graduation. And then the epilouge after that. It's sad that we're almost to the end, but I do plan on writing a sequel dealing with Katie after Hogwarts. Feel free to give me suggestions, although you might want to wait until after the Epilouge. Sorry if this chapter was a little slow on action, but I felt that it was necessary. Please review, people. _


	15. GoodBye

_Good-Bye::_

As the year drew to a close and Oliver's graduation drew nearer, Leanne and I agreed to just have a day to ourselves. No Cullen, no Oliver—just us two girls, like old times. We grabbed a spot under a tree by the lake, plenty of food in tow, and had all the intention of just staying here and relaxing all day long.

"I can't believe that this year's almost over," Leanne says, staring out across the lake as if dreaming of a far away place.

"Yeah, me neither. I don't want it to end—it's just started getting good," I sigh.

"Having too much fun with Oliver?" she asks with a laugh.

"So what if I am?"

"I guess I just never thought that you and Oliver would actually end up together," she says, with an apologetic smirk

"Well, thanks for the confidence," I say sarcastically. "I can't say that I ever really imagined you and Cullen together either…Wait a second! Cullen!"

"Yeah, what about him?" Leanne asks, worriedly.

"He's a seventh year; he's graduating!" I say, probably happier than I should have been.

"Well, thanks for bringing that up, Katie."

"No, Leanne, I need help with this. What are you and Cullen going to do? Are you going to stay together after he graduates?" Leanne paused for a second.

"Yeah," she finally answers. "We've agreed to stay together. I'm going to spend the month of July with his family. Or so _my_ family thinks. He's used some money that his parents left him to buy an apartment in Hogsmeade and I'm going to stay there for a month."

"Like you're going to live there? With him? There—in the same house?" I question and she nods, a slight blush rising to her cheeks. "That's _big_, Leanne!"

"Yeah, I know. I'm really not looking forward to it, though. They say that you don't truly know a person until you live with them and I don't think I'm ready to know the real Cullen yet. I've got to do it though; I have to be near him."

"You two have only been going out for six months…"

"It doesn't matter," Leanne muses. "I love him."

"But how are you going to carry on a relationship while you're at school?"

"Hogsmeade trips, holidays. It'll be tough, but…I've told him that while I'm here, he's welcome to shag as many girls as he wants. As long as he doesn't tell me about them."

"You're really okay with that?" I ask, shocked.

"Well, not really. But since I told him that he _can_, there's a lesser chance that he actually _will_." I laugh at her logic. "So, what about you and Oliver?"

"Well, he says he wants to stay together," I say.

"That's good."

"Yeah, but I just don't understand how we can make it work."

"You'll figure it out, Katie. You always do."

OoO

I walk into the Common Room a few hours later to find it deserted except for Angelina and Lee who were locked in a close embrace and kissing fiercely.

"Having fun?" I ask brightly, and they immediately spring apart.

"Damn it, Katie. You scared us half to death," Angelina exclaims.

"Just be happy that I wasn't Fred. You do realize that it isn't safe for you two to kiss in public, right?" I ask as I walk over to the couple, Lee looking extremely embarrassed. It's something about people being embarrassed that makes me want to embarrass them even more. Poor Lee; he walked right into my trap. And Lord knows that Angelina will play along.

"Shall I join you?" I ask Lee, sitting down in between him and Angelina, while resting my hand sensually on his knee.

"What?" Lee asks worriedly, staring at my hand as Angelina is laughing her head off behind me.

"You know what?" Angelina asks once her initial laughter subsides. "I've always wanted to try a threesome." I laugh and watch as Lee's eyes widen. He doesn't quite know what to make of our joking—that much is obvious.

"What about you, Lee?" I ask, holding back laughter.

"Oliver would kill me," Lee says simply.

At that precise moment, the portrait hole opens and Oliver steps through.

"You just ruined our fun, Oliver," Angelina greets. "Lee won't agree to have a threesome because you're dating Katie."

"Oh, well, in that case, you have my permission, Lee," Oliver says, used to our perverted humor from Quidditch. Lee just stares at Oliver as if questioning his sanity.

"You know what? I'm going to leave now," Lee says getting up from the couch. If his skin was a just a little lighter, he'd be as red as a quaffle.

"No, stay," Angelina says, reaching up and pulling him back down to her. "We were just joking; we'll stop."

"Yeah, no hard feelings, Lee. I'll get you into bed one of these days," I joke as Oliver laughs and Lee chokes on the butterbeer that he had been taking a sip of.

"Okay, Katie," Oliver says, laughing. "If you're done harassing Jordan, can I talk to you about the Graduation ceremony for a minute?

"Yeah, sure," I say, throwing one last flirtatious glance at Lee. Oliver leads me out of the Common Room and takes my hand in his as we begin aimlessly roaming the school.

"So, do you really still want to go to my graduation?" Oliver asks after a few minutes of walking in silence.

"Of course I do!"

"It's going to be boring, Katie," he urges.

"I want to see you," I answer simply. "Oliver, what's going on?"

"My parents are going to be there. It's just a whole bunch of family. And I know my mother kind of upset you last time."

"No, Oliver, she didn't. I was just surprised she knew my mum is all; I've never heard mention of my mum in the wizarding world. It just took me by shock," I assure him.

"Okay, well…my grandparents are going to be there too and it's just going to be a mess. They don't really approve of my career choice—actually, my parents don't even approve of my career choice. Anyway, I think it would be better if you didn't have to sit through that. With Cullen's family there too, it's going to be a gang-up-on-the-graduates day. His dad wanted him to join the family at the ministry and needless to say…"

"Oliver, you're rambling again. This is the last time I'll see you before summer. The graduates leave right after the ceremony, so I'm going."

"Katie, please," he whines.

"Oliver, what is it that you're trying to hide?"

He sighs loudly, preparing himself for what came next. "Okay, listen. Don't freak out. Promise me that you won't freak out."

"Well, I can't until I know what you're about to say," I reply worriedly, getting vivid flashbacks of the time that he broke up with me.

"Okay, here it goes. My grandmother is like a dictator, I swear. She insists that I get married right out of school, like my father. I told her no, but she kept going on and on about how I'm going to burn in hell for playing the devil's sport as a living and the least that I could do was provide her with great-grandchildren before I do. I just kind of snapped." I look at him expectantly. "So, I kind of told her that we're engaged."

"You did what?" I ask, surprised.

"Sorry?" he answers, sheepishly.

"I'm only fifteen, Oliver!"

"Yeah, and we're not really engaged. We just have to pretend. Please? My dad said that it would be better for us to pretend than to admit that I lied." He looked so worried and the situation was so funny that I couldn't help but laugh.

"So you'll do it?" he asks, cautiously.

"Yeah," I say, still laughing.

"Thanks."

"Not to scare you or anything, but what happens if we end up breaking up later on? What would you tell her?" I joke as we continue walking down the hall.

"Probably that you'd died," he answered honestly.

"Oh thanks. Can I come to the funeral?"

"Actually, if you think about it, the lady's 105. We may not even have to tell her! She can't live that much longer, can she…?"

OoO

The day of Oliver's graduation dawned and an uneasy sense of foreboding filled me to the brim. This is it: the beginning of the end.

The graduation ceremonies are always held on the castle grounds, where parents and a select few guests are allowed to attend. The past few years I've sat in my dormitory watching from the window, but now I've finally been invited to one—and I'm not so sure that that's a good thing.

The student body as a whole typically isn't allowed to congregate on the grounds to watch, but I'm pretty sure that Fred, George, Lee, Alicia, and Angelina are all going to sneak down anyway.

I quickly dress in my best set of dress robes and, using a spell Leanne taught me, I watch as my hair magically straightens itself. And I thought that my hair was long curly…I'm definitely going to have to cut it when I get home in a week. A week—God, how time flies!

Deciding that it's probably not the best idea to dwell on my reflection for too long, I walk down into the Common Room, thinking that I'll arrive a little early and find a good seat. When I get to the Common Room, however, Fred, George, and Lee are all sitting on the couch, Fred and George in dress robes and Lee in a muggle tuxedo.

"Wow, you guys clean up nice," I comment, walking up behind them.

"I always look like this," Fred says as I walk around to sit with them.

"No, not really," I joke and then turn to Lee. "You look like a black James Bond." Sorry, couldn't help myself.

"Why, thank you," Lee says with a smirk.

"I like your hair," Fred says, lifting a lock off of my head and examining it.

"Thank you," I say, grabbing my hair back. "I'm going to go on down to the ceremony—don't want to be late."

"I'll come with you," Fred says, throwing one last longing glance towards the girls' stairs. "Not like I have a girlfriend to wait on or anything."

"Shut up, mate," George mutters and Fred sticks his tongue out at him.

Probably to cover up for his comment about needing a woman, Fred makes fun of me actually taking the time to fix my hair all the way down to the lake where the ceremony is being held. It came as a relief when we finally arrived at the set up of white picket lawn chairs.

"Invitation?" Professor McGonagall asks strictly as soon as we arrive. I hand her mine and she stares hard at it as if wondering if she should allow someone who only barely passed their Transfiguration exams into the graduation ceremony. Finding no forgery, she turns instead to Fred. "Invitation, Mr. Weasley?"

"I'm here for my brother," he lies smoothly. His parents forbid him from ever coming to a graduation after him and George set the Head Boy's robes on fire during their older brother, Charlie's. McGonagall seemed to be aware of this fact.

"He's with me," I clarify.

"Miss Bell, I may be an old woman but don't think that I haven't noticed you and _him_ together," she says, throwing a glance over her shoulder and pointing at Oliver, who just so happens to be right in the middle of having a row with Percy Weasley. McGonagall does a double take. "Goodness gracious. The head boy and my Quidditch captain? MR. WOOD, MR.WEASLEY!" she shouts and walks over to the two boys to sort out whatever their problem happens to be.

"Hurry before she comes back," Fred says, pulling me over to a row of empty seats.

"Never have I been more embarrassed in my whole life!" I hear McGonagall yell and Fred and I burst into a fit of silent laughter. "Two grown men arguing about something that happened nine months ago? It's insanity! Gryffindors are supposed to have more class than this! Is this how you want to be remembered at Hogwarts?" She probably doesn't realize that she's making a bigger scene than either of the two boys were. Oliver and Percy just stare at their Head of House warily, as if wondering whether she was still allowed to give them detention.

"Sorry, Professor," they mutter. McGonagall just rolls her eyes and arrives back at her post just in time to yell at Alicia, Angelina, Lee, and George as they arrive. Graduation must be stressful for her…

"I'm glad you came," Oliver says, walking over and kissing me lightly on the lips. "Fred," he greets, acknowledging my companion.

"What? No kiss?" Fred asks and I can't help but laugh. Oliver just shakes his head.

"What were you and Big Head Boy discussing?" Fred asks, using his preferred name for Percy.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Oliver answers with a smirk.

"You're kidding me!" I exclaim, knowing in an instant what they had been yelling about. "Was he seriously just now yelling at you about telling him that he needed to get laid at the Welcome feast?" Oliver just nods.

"The prat said that we needed to clear the air before entering the real world—he's seriously been mad at me about that this whole year! Your brother's got the emotions of a thirteen year old girl, mate," he says to Fred.

"Sings like one, too," Fred says with a laugh.

"All graduates to their places, please," Professor Flitwick's small voice echoes across the lawn.

"You are coming back after the ceremony, right?" I ask worriedly.

"Of course I am, Katie. Calm down." Does he know just how much I can not calm down? After the ceremony it is traditional for Hagrid, the gamekeeper, to ride the graduates across the lake in the same wooden boats that they arrived in first year; we leave the same way that we come in. "I'll tell you good-bye," he promises and kisses me one more time before taking his place on the very last row, right next to Percy Weasley.

The last few stragglers (George, Angelina, Alicia, and Lee included) make their way into the remaining seats as Dumbledore takes the stage.

"I have here before me, a very noble group of students. Students that I've grown to love over the past seven years and am sorry to see go. Students that have forever touched my life and made me different because of it. Without further ado, I welcome the 1994 graduating class' Head Boy, Mr. Percy Weasley." Percy takes the stage to a smattering of applause. Looking around, I find his mother and watch as tears fall freely from her eyes.

"Hogwarts has been our home for seven years," he starts, and even though I'm not that fond of Percy, I feel that his words affect everyone hearing them. "We've had both memories good and bad and now it's time to put all that we've learned into practice in the real world. We're all going off to different careers: some to the Ministry of Magic, some to the Daily Prophet, and some even to foreign countries to carry on our name there. It is time for us to continue our magical learning in the venue set before us…"

I have to admit that Percy's speech was very eloquent and by the time it was over, I felt tears fighting to fall from my eyes. I can't believe that Oliver is really graduating. I can still remember the first time that I laid eyes on him back in my first year…

When Percy finishes, McGonagall takes the stage, a look of tranquility washing over her face. "Now, as I call your name please step forward to receive your diploma," she tells the long line of graduates.

Watching as all of the seventh years make their way one by one over to Professor McGonagall, it's interesting to recall just how similar this ceremony is to my sorting in first year.

I wait for Oliver's name to be called; he just has to be last in line, doesn't he?

"Mr. Percy Weasley….and Mr. Oliver Wood," Professor McGonagall finishes, rolling up the piece of paper that she had been reading from—you'd think she'd know all of their names by now.

The ceremony finished shortly after and Oliver hurried into the audience and headed straight for his mother. He only has a few minutes before he has to go. Ignoring the greetings from various relatives, Oliver whispers something into his mum's ear and even from this far away I see her roll her eyes. I do notice, however, how she stealthily hides her hands behind her back and slips off her engagement ring; Oliver takes it from her and quickly heads over to me.

"Here you go," he says, handing me the ring and positioning himself so that his family doesn't see me putting it on.

"I still think that this is crazy," I mutter.

"What's' going on?" Fred asks, staring hard at the ring. Oliver was about to explain, but I felt that I could do it better.

"We're engaged," I say, trying to hold back my laughter at the look on Fred's face.

"Wait, what?" he cries, dismayed.

"I'll explain later, mate," Oliver says, pulling me over to his family. When we get there, I remain silent, not sure of what I am supposed to say.

Oliver's mother, the only one of the assembled group that I have ever met before is staring at me encouragingly while trying to conceal her un-ringed hand behind her back; his dad looks almost as uncomfortable as Oliver himself, and is completely ignoring me but staring instead at Cullen's family saying their good-byes with Leanne trailing along behind. I turn my gaze instead to his grandparents and find no comfort there, either. Oliver's grandfather seems to have no clue where on Earth he is, while his grandmother is staring me up and down like apiece of meat.

"Well," she snaps at Oliver. "Are you going to introduce us or not?"

"Oh right. Katie, this is my mum, Elizabeth—you've met. My dad, Will; my grandfather, William; and my grandmother, Emma. Everyone, this is my fiancé, Katie Bell." Even though I know that it isn't true, the sound of his voice saying those words sends a flutter to my heart.

"Bell," his grandmother muses and, as I knew it soon would, realization dawns on her face. Great—she knows my mum too. "I knew you looked familiar. Spitting image of Caroline."

"Thank you," I manage to get out.

"Caroline was such a beautiful woman," she continues. "We worked together at the ministry for a few years after she graduated."

"I hate to break this short," Oliver interrupts. "But I need to do a few things before I leave so…"

"It was a pleasure to meet all of you," I say.

"You too, Ms. Bell. You're going to make a great Wood," Oliver's grandmother says, bringing a healthy blush to my cheeks.

Before I can reply, Oliver pulls me away. We finally find our way to a secluded spot and without a word, he pulls me to him and presses my lips against his. Desperate for him, I respond fiercely not even caring that Professor McGonagall could very well walk around the corner any minute now. When we finally break apart, I'm struggling for air.

We stand there staring into each others eyes for the longest time, both of us wondering how much things are about to change. If only I could stay in this one moment forever.

I'm snapped out of my wishful thinking, however, when the booming voice of Hagrid sounds across the grounds. "Time ter go! Over here!"

"I have to go, Katie," Oliver says, burying his head in my shoulder and pulling me into a hug. "I'll meet you at Platform nine and three-quarters in a week, okay?"

"Okay," I agree sullenly, just now beginning to realize that this is only going to be the start of many goodbyes over this summer. "I'm going to miss you, Oliver."

"Katie, come on. It's only a week," he says, taking my chin in his hand and tilting my head to place a gentle kiss on my lips. "But I'll miss you, too. This isn't good-bye though. Not yet." He kisses me one more time and then takes off for the boats gathered on the shore.

I walk back to the ceremony and watch as the boats magically carry their passengers to Hogsmeade station for the last time. I watch in silence as the vessels carry my lover away from me.

OoO

_I hope you enjoyed it! Strictly speaking this is the final chapter. There will, however, be an epilogue that will help carry my story into the sequel. So if you're interested in following Katie and Oliver through their journey, the last chapter should be posted within a week or maybe just a little longer. Thanks again for reading and reviewing. You have no idea how much I appreciate it!_

_Just a note: the epilouge will cover Katie's remaining time at Hogwarts. This is mainly because I can't really write a Katie/Oliver fic while she's at Hogwarts and he's at Puddlemere. It would get repetitive and boring. For this reason, I'm setting the sequel right after Katie graduates. It will cover the events in the seventh book and continue after the last battle, showing some of the aftermath. Thanks again,_

_HorcruxFinder_


	16. Only Fairy Tales

_Only Fairy Tales:::_

While I'd hoped that that summer would last forever, it didn't stop September from staying there, looming just around the corner. Every free minute that we had, Oliver and I spent together. It probably wasn't the best thing for my heart at the time, but I'm all for instant gratification.

The strange thing is that my dad didn't seem to mind my repeated absences at all. And that's saying something. The last time he'd met Oliver, I hadn't exactly gotten the impression that they'd hit it off. At first, I was convinced that my dad must have found himself a lady-friend while I was off at school, but Oliver's mum overheard me telling him about it and she quickly set me straight.

Apparently, my mum's father didn't like my dad much and tried to keep my parents apart. I guess my dad is just trying to get back at my grandfather by allowing me to see Oliver. Too bad Grandpa's dead…Whatever, I'm not complaining.

That summer affected a lot of us relationship-wise. While I didn't spend as much time with the rest of my friends as I would have liked, there were still vibes there that I was able to pick up.

It wasn't far into the summer when I realized that there was some trouble in Lee and Angelina's paradise. They weren't spending nearly as much time together and when they did, they were both awfully distant. After assuring me that she was not pregnant, Angelina finally admitted that she could feel their relationship siphoning away and she was not at all sorry about it. I never figured out how it happened—I never figured out why. All I know is that by the end of the summer, they were no longer together. I asked both Lee and Angelina and they refused to tell me the reason although it seemed that they had one, so I eventually just stopped asking.

Fred, stubborn ass that he is, refused to make a move on Angelina until she was "completely over Lee." I tried pointing out that they wouldn't be broken up if they weren't over each other, but he ignored me. He also ignored me when I pointed out that Lee had basically stolen Angelina from him last year.

Alicia somehow managed to get George to use the word "girlfriend" when talking about her, which is a feat, let me tell you, and their romance has definitely blossomed. I'd say that they're the happiest out of all of us. What, with both of them going back to Hogwarts for their sixth year, why wouldn't they be?

I guess one of the most interesting changes over that summer was Cullen and Leanne. To my surprise, she kept her promise to Cullen and agreed to "visit his family". Oliver and I were at Cullen's the day she arrived with her bags and I'll be the first to tell you (after I stop laughing) that she'd barely taken a step into the house before she had a massive panic attack. She has this issue with lying to her parents…

Anyway, she didn't even make it a week before Cullen was forced to go back to just plain, old-fashioned wooing. But they're still very much in love, and with him having a flat in Hogsmeade, it shouldn't be hard for her to sneak out of the castle to see him every now and then. Not that she will, but still.

That Summer. Wow. Some of the best memories of my life are there. Footprints in the sand on a beach in the South of France, taking Fred and George to their first ever muggle movie, just being with Oliver; but, my deepest sorrows are linked so closely with those good memories, that they're slowly drifting away.

Oliver and I had made an agreement ahead of time. Since the Quidditch World Cup was only a few days before I headed back to school, and both Oliver and I were going separately (him with his parents, me with Angelina), it seemed only fitting to say our goodbyes before we left for it.

I cried when the time came. A lot. And I'm one of those really annoying criers, too. You know the kind. I get so mad at myself for crying that I start crying harder and swearing a lot. But Oliver didn't seem to mind. He simply wiped my tears and held me when that didn't stop them from falling. I hate feeling vulnerable like that, but Oliver didn't make me feel self-conscious at all.

He hugged me, kissed me, and told me he loved me and I managed to choke out an "I love you, too." It was a goodbye worthy of a movie, if I do say so myself. It was romantic and oh so bittersweet.

And also rather anticlimactic.

After the Death Eaters attacked the World Cup, Oliver of course had to track me down and make sure that I was okay. The second goodbye was harder, but a new day dawned and thus started my fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

The first couple of months were by far the hardest. Not only did I have to deal with not being able to see Oliver everyday, but there was also no Quidditch because of the Triwizard Tournament. Things were busy for both of us—Oliver and I—and it would be a lie if I said that I wasn't dieing to be with him. I have to admit, however, that Oliver did the whole long distance relationship thing perfectly. He wrote at least twice a week, which Angelina said was the perfect number. "Any more than two and he's either guilty or just too clingy."

When my sixteenth birthday rolled around at the end of September, I was surprised to walk into the Common Room and see Oliver lounging on the sofa as if he'd never left. It was the best birthday present ever. We talked (and did a few other things) late into the night until he finally said that he had to be getting back. When he left, I felt a rift start to form in my heart. How much longer could I keep doing this?

On Halloween, the Goblet of Fire began taking entries for the Triwizard Tournament Champions. Fred and George concocted some "brilliant" plan to get their names in even though they were underage. Two beards later, Angelina tossed her own name in (probably to prove that she can do anything better than Fred) and we all crossed our fingers.

The fact that her name didn't come out of the Goblet was never discussed because of the one name that did: Harry Potter. Putting aside the fact that he was underage and would probably get killed, we Gryffindors just turned it into a major party.

Oliver came up for the first task and even though I think he was more eager to see Viktor Krum than me, it was still good to see him. When he left I sent him off with a list of all of the Hogsmeade weekends. He wrote back the next day saying that he was very sorry but his practice schedule wouldn't allow him to make any of them. I just shrugged it off and turned my focus instead to Christmas break—and the Yule Ball.

My time with Oliver had been so limited that it was no longer just an emotional pain not to see him, but also a physical one. The Yule Ball was exactly what we needed; to just live one night as if we were in a fairy tale and everything would have a happy ending.

Speaking of the Yule Ball, guess who Fred finally asked out? Angelina! I guess Oliver and I weren't the only ones with a fairy tale night.

So we spent all of Christmas together, and the rift in my heart slowing stitched itself back together and everything became clear once again. I loved him and he loved me and everything was going to be perfect. Why had I ever doubted it?

After Christmas, our letters slowly began coming fewer and farther between. It almost became a frustration, coming up with new things to say and it was tearing me apart. Alicia and Fred noticed easily, even though I tried to hide it from everyone else.

Alicia was all for making Oliver and I last and her advice reflected it. "I know it's hard now, Katie, but it won't always be this way. School gets out in a few months, just hang in there."

Fred, however, was much more practical and probably more truthful too. It had just been a really sucky day. I was upset about Oliver and I had failed a Transfiguration exam. Anyway, for some reason it had all just built up inside of me and Fred found me crying on top of the Astronomy Tower. And trust me that I've been really careful never to let him see me cry before; I've gotten close, but the tears have never fallen when he's been there. He's just too overprotective.

"Katie, can I give you some advice?" he asked, once I dried my tears. I nodded. "Break it off—end it." His bluntness took me by surprise. "I can't stand to see you like this. Even if you do love him, you can't do this for two more years. You're strong, but you're not that strong."

I ignored his advice for a while, but Oliver wrote saying that he was coming to the third task and I knew that I would have to do it then. I think Oliver knew it too.

The conversation never came up, however, because of all of the confusion after Cedric Diggory died in the third task. People were saying that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was back and breaking up with Oliver was pushed to the back of my mind. Before it was either confirmed or denied that Harry wasn't crazy, I was shipped back home. Between all of my friends, however, I was kept up-to-date.

The summer was almost over and I'd barely seen Oliver at all when one day he showed up on my doorstep. I immediately knew what was about to happen and stepped onto my porch, closing the door behind me. No reason to draw my dad's attention.

"Katie, listen…"Oliver started, never making eye contact.

"I know," I interrupted. And with those two words, I felt the rift that had been working its way through my heart completely shatter, but I somehow managed to hold myself together.

"I _will_ always love you," he said desperately, looking me straight in the eyes. When I couldn't hold his gaze any longer, I took to staring at the welcome mat.

"I know," I repeated, wishing that I had the strength to say something else.

"Maybe after you graduate…"

"Yeah, maybe." He left without another word and once he could see me no longer, I collapsed on my doorstep and cried.

I'd never had to breakup with someone that I actually cared about before. It was just so hard because I knew that Oliver and I weren't given a fair chance. If I was out of school, we could be having the time of our lives, but there's no way to do that unless I drop out and even I'm not pathetic enough to give up my future for a guy. It was better this way; but that didn't stop me from eating a whole carton of ice cream and sitting around in my pajamas for about a week.

When September first arrived, I was not looking forward to going back to Hogwarts. Was I really already a sixth year? It seemed impossible. What was even more impossible was that I'd qualified for NEWT Transfiguration. I guess I have Oliver to thank for that one.

Angelina was made Quidditch captain and although she was no where near Oliver's grandeur, she seemed to be just as maniacal.

And speaking of maniacal… 

Our new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, Dolores Jane Umbridge (full name necessary), definitely fit the description. She wouldn't even let us practice real magic! And with You-Know-Who back from the dead or wherever he came from, that was about the worst thing that she could do—leave us defenseless. So who was there to turn to besides the great Harry Potter?

Dumbledore's Army we called ourselves. Has a nice ring to it, don't you think? Week after week, Harry would teach us these amazing techniques and for once in my life, I finally felt that I was making a difference in something. The hours that we spent practicing completely drove a certain rising Quidditch star from my mind, and I was eternally grateful to Harry for that.

It's crazy though, you know. Oliver would not leave my head, even though it was a nice clean break. He was definitely hindering my life in the romance department, let me tell you.

In the space of four months, four different guys asked me out: Anthony Goldstein, Cormac McLaggen, Dean Thomas, and surprisingly Lee, although I think he was only joking. And I was confused as hell. I turned them all down without even thinking about it. Well, except for Lee who I joked around with for a bit.

Looking back, I'm not sure if Lee meant it as a joke or not…

The year went by in a blur which kind of sucked considering Alicia, Angelina, Fred, George, and Lee all graduated at the end of it.

And then only a few months before they would have become fully qualified wizards, Fred and George had to go and screw it all up. Before Angelina and Alicia could calm down their significant other, Fred and George had ridden off into the horizon on their broomsticks.

Angelina, Alicia, Lee, and I were left in shock, but apology letters arrived in the post the next day and my anger slowly ebbed away with a few more letters and one box of chocolates.

Even though Fred and George wrote to them everyday, Angelina and Alicia stayed in a mood for the rest of the year and Lee and I began hanging out a lot more.

I guess I sort of realized it then, that Lee had a fancy for me but I ignored it, unwilling to accept the fact that someone could actually like me as much as Oliver did. He didn't deserve me, anyway—I was way too messed up.

Right before he graduated, Lee asked me out. Really this time—his face was clearly not joking. I told him I'd think about it and was thankfully saved from answering because the next day the papers were announcing that Harry had been right all along and that Voldemort was definitely back.

As soon as we got off the Hogwarts Express on our way home, Fred was waiting as planned and we went to talk to my dad. With Voldemort back in the open, it's not safe for him here in England. It took some convincing, but within a week my dad was on a plane to the United Sates, where he could watch as must American football as he wanted.

He left the house for me, but I couldn't stand the idea of living alone, so Angelina, Alicia, and I put our money together and bought a muggle flat in London. Fred, George, and Lee all lived in Diagon Alley, so at least we were close. In the back of my mind, I knew that Oliver lived somewhere in muggle London too, but I chose to ignore it.

Everyone came to see me off for my seventh year and I've never felt so alone in my life. When I met Leanne on the train, however, she had some major news for me. Without saying a word, she thrust out her left hand and on her ring finger was a very large diamond. She and Cullen were getting married! The weddings set for next September.

Surprisingly, my seventh year rushed by and I was overjoyed. Being in this school is doing absolutely nothing to help with getting rid of You-Know-Who. Christmas had almost arrived when a Hogsmeade visit was announced and I guess Lee somehow found out about it because he insisted that we needed to talk. I agreed and we planned to meet at the Three Broomsticks. And you know what? If he had asked me out, I was fully ready to say yes. I was over Oliver—well, I was ready to move on at least. And I did like Lee—I do.

But the question never came, because I never saw Lee that day. The last thing I remember is going into the bathroom at the Three Broomsticks. And then it goes black.

I woke up in a hospital bed at St. Mungo's a couple of months later to Fred and Lee arguing about the Chudley Cannons at my bedside. I couldn't help but throw my two knuts in and when I spoke, they immediately engulfed me in a hug that had me begging for air.

Apparently Angelina, Alicia, Fred, George, and Lee had all been taking turns staying by my bedside. That way someone would be there when I woke up. It almost broke my heart at what great friends I have.

I was flipping through my guest book one day and noticed that Oliver had been visiting at least once a week. None of my friends ever told me that—maybe they didn't know—but he must have discover that I'd come out of my "coma" because I didn't ever see him in there. In fact, I haven't see Oliver in person since the day we broke up two and a half years ago.

I didn't want to finish my seventh year, but Alicia forced me back onto the train and I managed to suffer through. I never got a graduation ceremony, however. Dumbledore died right before it and we honored him instead.

Now that I'm graduated, I'm still living with Angelina and Alicia and sorting through some job offers. I don't know what's going to happen in this war—I don't even know if I'm going to live through it. I try not to think about it too much.

When I look back, my fourth year at Hogwarts was one of the best times of my life. I was so innocent and I fell in love with someone that I knew I never had a real chance with. I don't know what would happen if Oliver and I ever saw each other again. It would definitely be interesting. He hasn't seen me since I was sixteen, still young and in love, unaffected by the trials and tribulations of life. I turn nineteen in a few months and I have definitely changed.

I hope Oliver's good, I really do. I bounce between wanting to see him and dreading ever coming across him again. I love him, and I always will, but there's a time when you just have to move on.

So, I have a date with Lee on Tuesday and I'm looking forward to it.

But I should have known it all along, because only fairy tales have happy endings.

OoO

_Thank everyone for sticking with me until the end. When I get about half way through the sequel, I'll post it. I hope you don't hate me for this chapter, but I feel that it's very realistic. The sequel _will_ be a Katie/Oliver ship if that helps any. If you have any questions, then ask. If you have any suggestions for things that you want to happen in the next one let me know. I'm all ears. And thanks again!_


End file.
